The Connection
by icykisses
Summary: Ash and Misty meet in a dream that they soon find out they are sharing each night. Like a personal heaven, they also share control over their dream. Well, most control... because someone, or something, is out there watching them... their every move...
1. Default Chapter

The Sickness  
by: LilCupid  
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Pokemon! For the love of Jesus! Who would really think I did?! If I did, why would I be sitting on my butt all day, writing these AAMRNs when I would be able to actually create it on screen?! Sheesh!  
  
The slowly emerging, morning sun glazed the earth. The now dim stars and moon began to fade into the bright sheild, needed elsewhere among the world for star gazing or moonlit strolls. The tender, warm rays crawled slowly towards the Viridian Pokemon Center, drying the soft mud and wet grass. A single thin ray shot through the curtains of one of the Poke'Center's rented rooms and laid upon a closed eyelid. Misty felt the burning sensation and flipped onto her backside, avoiding both the sun, and the need to wake up.  
"Come on, Misty. You need to get up." Brock said quietly.  
"No. Not today." Misty grumbled, still trying to savor the wonderful feeling of Ash's lips; a leftover from another romantic dream of hers.  
"Misty, it's already nine o' clock." Ash said, just getting up himself as he sat in his usual sleeping bag on the floor.  
Her mental picture had faded.  
"I said no!" Misty said as a final warning, throwing a bed pillow over at Ash, only to miss and land on top of Brock's sleeping bag.  
"Misty? Are you sick?" Brock worried.  
"... Yeah... I guess... Yeah! That's it! I'm sick!" Misty lied, convinced it didn't work.  
"I know what'll get her up." Ash whispered into Brock's ear.  
Without further notice, Ash screamed the one word that would frighten Misty the most:  
"BUG!!!"  
"Aaahhh! Where?!" Misty sprung from her bed in total shock.  
Ash and Brock fell into a laughing frenzy.  
"Oh, I see 'em... two little irritable gnats." Misty recognized the joke instantly.  
"Forget it. I'm tired today..." Misty said, climbing back into bed.  
"Oh no you don't!" Ash said, grabbing her covers.  
"You'd better let go of those Ash Ketchum!" Misty yanked back, now sitting up in alert on her bed.  
"No, you get up." Ash said, yanking back on the sheets.  
Brock tapped on his shoulder. "Hey, Ash. Let them go. Maybe she really is tired."  
Ash, disturbed by Brock and being the only chance Misty had, she gave a final pull on the sheets and jumped back into bed.  
"Hmm..." Ash stared at her a moment.  
"Hey, Ash. You coming?" Brock motioned towards the doorway.  
"Where are you going to begin with?"  
"Down to the lobby." Brock answered, slipping on his usual green vest.  
"Oh, got a date with Nurse Joy?" Ash teased.  
Brock smiled. "Maybe... So, you coming?"  
"No, I think I'll stay. I wanna find out what's wrong with Misty." Ash said.  
Hearing this, Misty's eyes sprung open.  
'Ash and me... alone? Finally!' Misty thought.  
"Bye Brock!" Ash called after his friend.  
Misty closed her eyes as she heard the door softly close. Her senses became very acute as she felt Ash lean over her body. As Ash was looming over her, Misty suddenly opened her eyes.  
"Great!" she flung a sheet-holding arm to her side, smacking Ash in the stomach.  
"Now I can't sleep!" Misty whined.  
Ash, recovering from the sudden blow, answered.  
"You needed to get up anyway." he wheezed, holding his stomach.  
"How can I possibly sleep with you practically breathing on my neck?" Misty said, rubbing the back of her neck to further her point.  
"I wasn't... nevermind..." Ash said, standing up slowly.  
"I just wanted to sleep a little bit more today. I feel really queesy and sick." Misty said. The words seemed to roll off of her tongue, signalling a feeling of depression.  
"Oh... I'm sorry Misty... I thought you was just being lazy." Ash confessed.  
"Lazy?! When have I EVER been "lazy"?!" Misty shouted, but before Ash could answer, she grasped her mouth.  
"What's wrong?"  
She made a slight groaning sound, then suddenly sprinted towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Ash stood firmly and stared at the door.  
"Wonder what's up with her." Ash said to himself.  
He knocked quietly on the door.  
"Misty? Misty, you okay?"  
"Yeah..." she replied.  
Misty heard the doorknob jiggle, but shouted in protest.  
"No! Stay out!"   
"What? Why?" Ash asked shocked.  
"Just... leave!" Misty screamed. This has been a horrible morning.  
"Misty? Are you sure you're all right?"  
Ash heard muffled sobbing from the inside of the bathroom. He gasped.  
'She's crying!' he thought.  
Ash flung the door open, startling Misty beyond all thought. She shook slightly, feeling all of the paining fear of throwing up again, and how awful it all felt, how much she hated the feeling. Her legs were burning against the frozen tub as she sat, bending over the edge of the toilet, and holding onto the sink for further support. Her fingers gripped the shower curtain and sink so hard, her knuckles had turned as pale as her face.  
"Misty!" Ash was about to say 'You look terrible!', but decided against it.  
Instantly, he rushed to her side, placing his hand on her shoulders to get some attention from her.  
It worked. She turned around to face him with red stained eyes, a trail of fresh tears streaming down her face. She bit her bottom lip so hard that it bled. Fear seemed to spark and dance within her eyes. Ash took all of this in, and felt even more sorry for her than that of before, of any sorrow was felt to begin with... She suddenly let go of the sink, throwing the curtains from her hand, and threw her arms around Ash.   
"I feel so terrible!" Misty sobbed.  
"Why?" Ash whispered, his mind not exactly working correctly at the time.  
"I think I'm sick." she said, breathing in sharply.  
"What's so bad about being sick?" Ash laughed.  
"I've never been sick before..."  
  
  
~~~~~End Ch.1~~~~~  
Okay, shorty I know... but I'm working really hard. Don't worry though, there's plenty more story to tell and believe me, you really do not know what's going to happen next. (This chapter doesn't give ANY clues *whatsoever*) Sorry! Maybe another chappie tomorrow! ^_^ 


	2. And So We Meet

And So We Meet  
by: LilCupid  
Origin: Second chapter to "The Sickness"  
Part number: 2  
Category(s): AAMRN/ Horror *Or, that's what I'm trying to score for...*  
  
  
'How can somebody not experience sickness? I mean, she's gone thirteen years without getting sick? But, how is... is that even possible?' Ash thought as his eyelids drooped with sleepiness.  
'No, I can't sleep! Not here!' Ash thought as he looked down at Misty, who was sleeping soundly.  
  
~~~Flashback:~~~  
Ash: But... do I have to?  
Misty: Ash, I feel so sick... don't you want me to feel better?  
Ash: Yeah, but... well, how is this supposed to make you feel better?!  
A tear fell from Misty's eye; she felt to helpless, yet so out of control. A weakness seemed to have nestled into the back of her mind and the usual strong self she used to be had vanished without a trace.  
Misty: Well, fine then.   
Ash could tell her crying wasn't as fake as he'd hoped. He watched her climb into bed and sighed.  
Ash: Fine...  
Misty smiled secretly to herself as he lay down next to her and hugged her. She soon fell asleep.  
~~~End Flashback~~~  
  
Now, this. Ash just knew he was going to get whatever Misty got. He didn't know what it was, nor did he like seeing his best friend throwing up uncontrollably with such fear... and for the first time. His eyes began to droop again as his breathing grew heavier.   
'Well... maybe for just for a little while..." he thought.  
Ash felt his arms drop like heavy lead around Misty, his grip loosened, and his head fell softly against the pillow before slipping off into sleep.  
  
"What is this place?" Misty said to herself as she observed the strange place around her.   
Something told her to panic.  
"Ash!" she screamed, but gasped.  
The echo... it seemed... flat.  
There was no echo. None at all. She tried again.  
"Ash!!"   
Nothing.  
Her heart suddenly jumped into her throat and her stomach sank into a pit. She felt lost. And she felt alone.   
"Ash!!" she screamed once more and ran across the foggy field of nothingness.  
Her feet flew behind her, but she felt as if she wasn't going anywhere. Her panic grew worse. She could feel her pulse rising, her mind screaming for the sight of another humanly soul. Where was she going?  
Nowhere.  
"Ash! Where are you?!" she shouted. Her running slowed to a quick pace. Then, down to a slow stroll.  
She had just realized that her hard breathing wasn't because of the running, it was fear. Her legs weren't the least bit tired, nor her feet. It was strange.  
"Ash?" her tone a lonely whisper, she heard her voice echo through her mind.  
She was lost. And so was her hope.  
  
"Misty?" Ash whispered as he bent over, expecting his lungs to be gasping for air, but they weren't.   
He looked up. He could see her.  
"Misty?!" Ash shouted.  
  
Misty's eyes opened. Her tears hadn't managed to squeeze out; she couldn't even cry now?  
"Misty..." she heard Ash whisper.  
Her head jerked upwards from the ground.  
"Ash?!" she yelled.   
She could see him. Yes! It was Ash! Over in the far end of the field, beyond this fog!  
"Ash!!!" she screamed.  
"Misty!?! Is that you?!" Ash shouted.  
She suddenly disappeared from sight.  
"Misty?! Where are you?!"  
"Right here." he heard a whisper behind him.   
He spun around, but nothing was there. He looked around a few more times, but there was nothing to be found. He turned back to where he saw Misty before, but barely had a chance to get a good look when she tackled him to the ground in a hug.  
"Where am I?!" she screamed into Ash's shirt.  
"Uh... I don't... know..." Ash looked down at her laying on top of him.  
"Are you real?!" she asked, apparently stressed out.  
"I-I think so!" he said, a bit offended.  
Misty smiled. "Only one way to know for sure..."  
Ash looked at her as if she was crazy. She suddenly tore off his jacket and began to tickle him. Ash, suprised by all that has happened, laughed as she chanted:  
"Tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle." in a whispering voice, hinting with laughter.  
Their worries and paniked hysteria had suddenly left... for now anyway.  
Suddenly, he stopped.   
"Shh! Listen!" she silence her, holding her wrists.  
"Tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle." a strange voice, so completely different from Misty's echoed throughout the field in a haunting tone until they faded and disappeared. Misty's jaw dropped.  
"Ash..." she swallowed hard. "that voice isn't me." she whispered.  
Ash quickly sat up, knocking Misty over. Neither of them moving their gaze from straight ahead, to where the echo was once heard. The fog seemed to grow thicker around them. A strange presence seemed to swirl around their every move: from the blink of an eye, to the rapid thudding of their hearts. A shadowy figure formed, enveloped in the fog. Misty gasped and clutched Ash's hand as if for dear life itself. The slow sounds of their heartbeats increased, thudding heavier, and heavier, and heavier! The pace was being reflected towards the grey skies above them, and storming back to their ears as another strange echo:  
"Ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom! ba-boom!" their hearts jumped in skips as the figure approached, the once shady outline, now growing darker and more detailed than ever.  
A sudden breeze blew, blowing away all the fog... to reveil... nothing.  
Nothing.  
This whole 'world' seemed to be nothing...  
They stared blankly into the empty feild. Even without the fog, the place seemed scary.  
"Did you see that?" Ash whispered.  
"Yeah... What was it?" Misty asked softly.  
"I don't know."  
"I don't want to..." Misty whispered.  
  
They walked, still holding onto eachother, gripping one another's hands tightly as they shook repeatedly.   
"Where are we? One minute, I'm in bed sick and the next..." Misty's voice trailed off.  
"Wait! You were in bed, right?! This is a dream!" Ash said excitedly.  
"That's right! A dream!" Misty gasped happily.  
"Thank God... this place is really starting to freak me out." she continued, placing her free hand on her heart.  
"No kidding.." Ash sighed happily. "All we have to do is wait to wake up."  
"Just... wait." Misty repeated.  
A weeping willow tree came into veiw.  
"Ash? Do you wanna..."  
"Sit beneath the willow? No. I saw that in a movie once."  
"Really? What kind of movie?" Misty asked.  
"A horror movie." Ash replied stiffly.  
Silence.  
"Well, I wish that tree was a beautiful fruit tree, filled with ripening cherries and blossom petals fluttering down into a beautiful crystal clear lake nearby and..." Misty stopped as Ash tapped her shoulder, taking away her trip to fantasy land.  
"What?"  
She saw his face, a blank expression, as he pointed in front of them. There it all was. The blossoming cherry tree, the lake... everything. Misty gasped.  
"Just as I imagined it..." she said.  
"Okay, now, I'll sit under that tree." Ash smiled and pointed as Misty jumped in place excitedly. She could see Ash was just as excited as she was as his grin spred.  
"Do you know what this means?!" she shouted, grabbing his arm.  
"Yeah... what does it mean?"  
"We can do whatever we want!" Misty said happily.  
"Whatever we want..." Ash said the words as if he had been longing to say them since the day he was born.  
"This dream..." she said.  
"Is amazing!" Ash finished.  
They laughed like a couple of five-year-olds at a candy store.  
"Wow." Ash sighed as he look up to the blank sky, his smile disappeared.  
"Sure wish there was a sun out." Ash said.  
Instantly, a sun appeared. They shielded their eyes, not expecting for it to brighten so.  
"Sunset!" Misty screamed at the sky.  
The light dimmed. Their hands fell from their faces.  
"Now, I wish their was a trail of grass and flowers following my every footstep." Misty said.  
"What is that for?" Ash asked.  
Misty giggled. "Just for fun."  
"Fun?"  
"Fun." she said as she walked towards the cherry tree, a trail of buttercups, violets, and fresh spring grass following her every step.  
  
"Guys, I'm back!" announced Brock as he stepped in the door.  
"Guys? Where are you two?" he asked, looking around the room.  
He saw them on the bed. Misty's bed. Misty sleeping rather soundly and Ash, well, had his arms wrapped around her. Brock laughed and shook his head.  
"Hey, hey Ash." Brock said, shaking Ash's shoulder to wake him up.  
  
  
"I wonder how long this will last." Misty thought out loud.  
"I don't know, but I really don't care." Ash said happily.  
They sat by the quiet stream holding hands. Misty blinked as a cherry blossom landed on Ash's hand, sweeping their skin as it fluttered away towards the stream, then carried away in it's tiny currents.  
"This seems so real..." Misty started.  
"...but it isn't" Ash finished for her.  
They looked at eachother and smiled. Suddenly, Misty's smile broke, Ash too.   
"What is this?" Misty whispered as Ash moved closer.  
"What is this, what is this, what is this, what is this..." the whisper echoed.  
"A dream." Ash whispered back.  
"A dream, a dream, a dream, a dream..." more echoes.  
"I like it."  
"Me too."  
As their faces were inches apart, Ash gasped.  
"What?" Misty asked, a strong wind blew suddenly, blowing all of the cherry blossoms to the ground.  
"Your-your disinigrating!" Ash yelled, watching Misty disappear bit by bit.  
"Huh?! You are too!" Misty shouted.  
"What's going on?!" Ash yelled again, standing up and letting go of Misty's hand.  
That was when the disappearing was completed.  
  
Misty gasped as cold water trickled down her back. Her eyes burst open and she saw Brock with a paper cup in his hands, laughing.   
"I'm gonna kill you!" she shouted, dodging for the paper cup.  
"Huh? What's going on?" Ash asked, sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes.   
Misty stopped to look at him.  
"Were you sleeping just now?" she asked, apparently unaware that he'd been sleeping the entire time.  
"Uh, yeah." he said. "And I had the most weirdest dream about... us."  
"A dream?" she swallowed. "About us?"  
"Mm-hmm." he nodded.  
"What was yours about?" she asked, forgetting all about Brock sprinkling water on her back a few moments ago.  
"Uh..." Ash looked around. "I'd rather tell you in private." he whispered.  
Brock snickered. Misty blushed also.  
"Is it... Brock, do you mind?" she asked, pointing towards the door with a nod.  
"Oh, sure."  
Brock left in a quick pace. Misty watched him closely to make sure he'd closed the door completely and walk away. Satisfied of hearing his footsteps leave down the hall, she turned back to Ash.  
"Well, I was in this really weird place and..." he began.  
Misty's stomach suddenly churned. The sickness was approaching her again. She mentally screamed at herself for getting sick now.  
"Wait! Hold on." Misty said quickly and ran to the bathroom.  
Relieved, Ash sighed. He really didn't want to tell her anyway. All he knew was that he had to, no matter what. He cringed at the sound of Misty's sickness.  
  
~~~~~End~~~~~  
I know this was a sucky ending, but since the chapters are kinda short so far, I'll try to make them longer and with better endings. Next chapter! Ash spills his secret dream to Misty! Yay! Oh, and someone asked me what AAMRN stands for. It means: Ash And Misty Romance Novel. ^_^ 


	3. I'll See You In Your Dreams

I'll See You In Your Dreams  
by: LilCupid  
Origin: third chapter to "The Connection"  
Patr no.: 3  
  
Misty sighed as she sat down next to Ash sitting nervously on the bed of the Pokemon Center.  
"Oh... I just hate this." she said, wiping the sweat off of her forehead.   
Misty moaned and lay down clutching her stomach.  
"I feel so... sick" she cried.  
"You okay?" Ash asked her.  
"Yeah." she said slowly, rubbing her eyes. "I'm fine."  
"How sick do you feel? Do you need to see a doctor?" Ash asked cautiously.  
"No, no, no. What I 'need' is to hear about your dream." Misty said, suddenly as an excited flow of intrest made her immediantly perky.  
Ash paused a moment and thought.  
"Um, well, I had this dream..." he began, but stopped.  
"Yeah, I know! Tell me what it was about."  
"Uh... It was really scary, actually... For some reason, I was really concerned about you... like I had a feeling you were hurting or something. There was an endless fog that went on across an empty feild and I had a weird feeling like you were out there. I ran into the fog looking for you and shouting your name, but there wasn't an echo. I don't know what it was all about, but for some reason, only a whisper would echo... Weird huh?!" Ash said.  
Misty had tears in her eyes. Had he had the same dream as her? It sounded so alike. She swallowed hard and asked the repeating question in her mind.  
"D-did you f-find... me?"  
"Yeah! You acted really scared, though. I dunno why, but you somehow found me and tackled me... then you bagan tickling me!" Ash laughed.  
Misty blushed. Yep, this was her dream.  
"Ash... I think I had the same dream as you did." Misty stated.  
Ash stared at her a bit. "No way. What happened next, then?"  
Misty took a deep breath. "We found a weeping willow and I asked you if you'd like to sit under it, but you refused, saying you'd seen it in a movie before... a horror movie... Anyway, I wished for a beautiful cherry tree, and a stream, and a sunset... Then, we sat under the blossoming cherry tree... and..."   
Misty stopped as she noticed how red Ash's face had suddenly turned, his eyes were wide with suprise and embarrassment. She didn't have to finish the sentence, he'd seen it all before.  
  
  
"Hmm... they sure have been in there a long time..." Brock wondered as he eyed the door, wondering if he should walk in or not.  
He chuckled.  
"I'll just hafta ask his pikachu what he overheard." Brock smiled, without worries.  
~Two hours later~  
"What the hell is going on in there?!" Brock said, obviously peeved to have been waiting in the hallway for what seemed like forever.  
"That's it, I'm comin' in!" Brock said sternly as he gripped the doorknob, and turned.  
  
  
"Do you want to know what happened next, Ash?" Misty teased.  
Ash quickly shook his head 'no', still left with the hateful blush. Misty grinned widly. It was without a doubt that she was really enjoying this little element of teasing. She leaned forward.  
"You almost kissed me." she said quietly with as much bravery as she could manage.  
Ash leaned backwards in fear. He was almost sure what she was doing... or he thought he was... That was when Brock came barging in through the door, looking as pissed off as humanly possible. Ash sighed of relief as Misty stumbled away from his face.  
"What were you guys doing? I thought you just had to talk! I didn't know you had to... uh... do whatever you guys were doing."  
Brock observed the two carefully: from Ash's blush, to Misty's grin. He smirked.  
"You know, I think I need to go to the store." Brock said slowly, walking out the door.   
Ash tried to manage breathing through his dry throat. He was stuck with Misty; the girl he secretly loved for three years who was now teasing him about his dreams about her.  
'Oh.. great' Ash thought.  
He looked away from the door, back to Misty, but she was gone.   
"Misty?" he asked, looking around.  
He spotted her leaning down next to her sleeping Togepi; snuggled up next to Ash's pikachu. She smiled and picked up her egg pokemon. It yawned and opened it's eyes, blinking a few times, and yawning again. Misty giggled.  
"Togepi always brings me to a good mood." she said, smiling at her pokemon.  
"Same thing with me and Pikachu." Ash shrugged.  
He walked over to his pikachu and shook it slightly, but it shooed away Ash's hand. He stopped, remembering the last time something like that had happened.   
"You wanna get some lunch, Misty?"  
Misty looked up. "Sure!"   
"Let's leave Pikachu here. I can tell she needs her sleep." Ash looked at his pikachu one last time and stood, grabbing his usual jacket and slipping it on. Misty's smile seemed to improve.  
"Where do we go?" she asked.  
"I dunno. Wherever. Besides, there's no better medicine to the flu than a nice walk and lunch through the park." he shrugged.  
  
"So, want some lunch?" Brock asked Joy.  
"Uh... I'm really quite busy." she said politely, shuffling through some papers.  
"That's okay. How 'bout tomorrow?"  
Nurse Joy gave him a agrivated sigh and turned her back. That was when Brock saw Ash, Misty, and Togepi walk out the door.  
"Where you goin'?" he asked.  
"Lunch." Ash said, hoping Brock wouldn't want to go.  
"Oh, okay." he said quickly, then turned away from the nurse and ran to their room.  
"Wonder where he's going?" Misty watched Brock run.  
"Who cares. I'm hungry." Ash said.  
"Me too."  
"Toge-prii!"  
  
  
They walked down the empty streets of Viridian. Ash chuckled.  
"What's so funny?" Misty asked.  
"The last time I've been here... this was the first city I traveled to with you following me." Ash laughed.  
"Why's that so funny?"  
"It's just the memories that make you laugh." Ash said.  
Misty laughed. "Oh, I see."  
Ash looked up, the skies were dark and grey.  
"I think it's going to rain..." he muttered.  
"Um, no I think it is raining..." Misty said, feeling the sudden chill of the tiny raindrops that sprinkled her skin, she covered Togepi as much as she could.  
Ash looked around him and spotted the streetside shops all with a faded "Closed" sign hanging on the doors.  
"C'mon, let's walk under the shops." Ash motioned towards the many shops.  
  
The rain poured and slid off the many roofs of the shops as Ash and Misty made their way towards some food. Togepi chirped necessantly. Misty sneezed.  
"Uh oh. I think we should go home if you're going to get sick."  
"No, actually, I'm feeling a whole lot better!" Misty lied; she felt horrible.  
"I don't believe you. C'mon, let's go..." Ash said as he grabbed Misty's arm.  
"Ash! If you're gonna take the curtesy of walking me back, why not try to be a little more gentle!" Misty yelled.  
Ash let go of her arm.  
"I don't need to walk you back." he said and walked in front of her.  
"Well... fine then! I'll just sit out here and be sick!" Misty shouted.  
Ash suddenly felt guilty, but tried shutting it out.  
"Fine... do whatever you want."  
"I will!"  
Ash walked away, feeling more guilty be the second. He wanted to just spin around and grab her, but he had to act his part. Talk about stubborness...   
He couldn't bear any more guilt or concern so he decided to go with plan A: spin around and grab her, then drag her back with her kicking and screaming. No, that won't work... Oh well, it's the best plan he's got. Ash turned and was about to run after her, but she was standing right behind him. Oh, how this brought back a few forgotten memories...  
"What?" was all Ash could say.  
"Be gentle." she mumbled and held his hand.  
"Don't you know how to be gentle to a girl?" she asked.  
Ash was too busy concentrating on his hand than on anything else to hear her talk. She smiled.  
"What's for lunch today?" she asked sweetly.  
  
  
That night, Misty lay in the rented Pokemon Center bed brushing her damp hair slowly as she thought about her dreams. Was it real? Did Ash have the same dream as her? What did it all mean? Would it happen again?  
Ash entered the room humming to himself, seemingly as happy as possible.  
"What are you so happy about?" Misty frowned.  
"Nothing."   
Misty could tell Ash was up to something. He walked over to his pikachu, who was playing with Togepi in a boardgame.  
"What's up Pikachu?"  
"Pika!" it replied.  
"That's nice, have a good day?"  
"Chu." it shook it's head.  
"Why not?"   
Pikachu didn't answer, it was her turn to roll.  
"Fine, whatever." Ash said as he walked away and began to set up his sleeping bag.  
"Hey Ash?" Misty said as she turned off the lamplight. Pikachu scolded her, but closed up the boardgame in agreement that it was getting really late.  
"Yeah?" he asked, laying down.  
"I'll see you in your dreams."  
Ash smiled. "Sweet dreams, Misty."  
  
~~~~~End~~~~~  
  
Huh! How 'bout that ending? Well, next chapter is about... well, I really shouldn't tell you, but it's gonna be so good! Chap. 4 is where the horror really starts to kick in! Oh, well, I don't really know what it's all about myself... I mean, I haven't even started to write it yet, but I got the best ideas for it! Yay! ^_^ 


	4. Converted Dreams Nightmares

Converted Dreams; Nightmares  
by: LilCupid  
  
Misty closed her eyes happily, awaiting her transport into the dreamworld where she would spend the whole night Ash. Ash, on the other hand, lay in confusion. What should he do? He knew that she would be expecting him to be fun and all... or what if she would expect something else?   
'Hmm...' Ash thought. He had the worst troubles trying to get to sleep.  
  
Misty looked around her into what she expected to be fog, but it was gone. Sighing, she carelessly sat on the gray, flat ground with a small smile on her face. She would wait for Ash until he would find her or vise-versa. Either way was great. She giggled at a couple of memories, especially the one earlier today when she'd tease him. Yep, tonight was going to be great.  
  
~~1 hour later~~  
  
Misty became concerned.   
"What's going on with Ash?" she said quietly to herself.  
Pouting, she stood and decided to go looking around for him. She had only walked a few meters away when she suddenly hit what felt like a wall with her foot. It was a grey wall that completely blended in with the rest of her surroundings. How was she supposed to know that it was there?! Growling, she grabbed her foot and swollen toe as she pounded at the wall in anger. An idea suddenly hit her and she turned around. Breathing heavilly, she ran in the opposite direction. After what seemed about forty meters away, she hit another wall. She screamed at the pain that hit her straight into the skull.  
"What's going on?!" she yelled, holding her fist into the air.  
Looking to her right, she spotted another wall. This, she could see as a random crack was easily spotted as it seemed to be floating in thin air. Then, to her left, was a blackness. A forest. She didn't remember wishing for a forest. Why was there a forest in her dream? Where there are forests, there are definately going to be bugs. Knowing this, she would've easily refused a forest. Out of curiousity, she walked towards the forest. Something seemed to have been luring her there, because she suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked around.  
"What am I doing here?" she asked herself, feeling silly.  
"You have come to see me..." a raspy, thin voice said from inside the forest. It sounded a bit like Ash's, she noticed.   
"Ash?" she asked shakily. Something told her this just wasn't right.  
The voice chuckled evily.  
"Do I sound like Ash?"  
"Ash?" she asked louder, beginning to fear whatever was waiting for her in those trees.  
"Hmm... You are Mistique Buen Waterflower? Heh heh, I thought you sounded a bit like her..."   
"Who are you?" Misty demanded, her voice quivering.  
"I would normally say, "Your worst nightmare", but too many actors took my line before I ever was able to use the damn thing. But, yes, I am your worst nightmare. Creator of all your nightmares and fantasies. I also see that you fancy that boy you are expecting to see. Well, he isn't here. He's in the real world." the strange voice said.  
"What are you talking about?"  
The 'thing' didn't answer. It was gone.  
"Who are you?!" Misty said, outraged that some freaky person was invading her personal dreams.  
She stomped into the dark forest where the trees shed little or no light at all, if any. She walked carefully, stepping over the many fallen tree branches or pinecones.  
"What are you doing here?! Get out! This is my territory! Go!" screeched the raspy voice.  
Misty looked up in the direction of the voice, but fell to the ground as a sudden weight fell upon her shoulders.  
"Beware little French miss, beware the forests, for they belong to me." the voice hissed into her ear. "Here's a suvineire for you to remember thine words."  
Misty gasped. What would it do to her?! She felt a cold breath upon her neck as the weight nearly crushed her shoulder crudely. A sharp tip pricked the side of her neck, then another, and another. Was the thing going to bite her neck?!  
'It's going to bite my neck!' Misty's mind screamed.  
"Move! Move now!" her brain told her to move, but it was too late...  
  
"Ash! Ash! ASH!!" Misty suddenly screamed as she sat straight up in bed, shivering constantly.  
"What?!" Ash jumped from his sleeping bag in fear and concern.  
"Ash!" she screamed. "The thing, it was going to... I was going to die!"   
Ash realized what was wrong. He walked over to her bed.  
"It was just a nightmare. Don't worry." he said, stroking her back for comfort.  
Wait a minute, something wasn't right. Misty suddenly looked up and smiled.  
"What? Am I doing something wrong?"  
Misty shook her head 'nothing' and began to lay down, looking over to Brock, who was sleeping soundly.  
"So you're okay now." he asked.  
She nodded.  
Ash began to walk off when she grabbed his nightshirt. He looked over his shoulder at her for a moment and began to back off.  
"Oh no. Not tonight."  
Misty stared pleadingly at him with the whole watery eyes routine.  
"Please?" she begged.  
Ash shook his head 'no', but couldn't resist this chance. He sighed and laid down next to her.  
"Fine." he said.  
Misty put a finger to his lips.  
"Sshh.."  
She mouthed the words 'thank you' and turned to her side waiting for Ash. After ten minutes of not going anywhere, she simply grabbed his arm and wrapped it around her herself.   
"Oh, this is what... oh." he whispered, hugging her tighter.  
"Good night."  
"Good night."  
"Sweet dreams." he whispered.  
"You too."  
  
Misty stood on the hard ground. The fog was alive and well. It trenched the ground in the usuall humid wetness. She had a feeling Ash was there with her. She knew... somehow she just knew...  
"Ash!" she called.  
"Right here!" he called back.  
Misty smiled. "Where?!"  
"I'm right here." she heard a voice behind her and turned around to see... nothing. She looked to her right, her left, but nothing. She gave up and turned around, but before she got a look at Ash, she was wrapped up in his arms.  
"There you are." he whispered.  
"There you are, there you are, there you are, there you are..." the whispering echos faded.  
"Uh... yeah." she replied confused.  
"Are you Ash?" she asked, tapping his shoulder.   
"Of course I am." he said, pulling away.  
"Well, ... well, you're hugging me."  
"Oh.." he backed away. "Sorry."  
"No, it's okay." she smiled. "It's actually kinda... nice."  
With that, Misty hugged him as he had before and whispered slightly:  
"See? You can be gentle to a girl."   
"Gentle, gentle, gentle, gentle..." repeated the echoed whispers.  
  
  
They walked through the blankness in silence until it was broken by Misty.  
"Ash?"  
"What?"  
"Why don't we do... this when we're awake?"  
"Do what?" he asked.  
"This." Misty said, holding up their gripped hands.  
"I don't know. Why would we?"  
Misty stopped.  
"Because I want to." she said sternly.  
"You.." he didn't get to finish. Everything went black.  
  
  
Misty had been knocked unconsious, or at least she thought she had been... For some reason, she was here instead of there. Ash! Where was he?! Where was she?! Misty looked around her into the piercing darkness, a few flames licked the dry ground as it seeped up in through the cracks. The sky was filled with clouds, a few crackling lightning bolts hit the far mounds and mountains in rage. There was an old, useless highway that looked like it hadn't been used in centuries. The skies seemed to last forever. Misty did the only thing that was useful at a time like this. She screamed.  
"ASH!!!"  
No answer. No echo. An idea hit her brain instantly.  
"Ash..." she whispered.  
"Ash, ash, ash, ash, ash..." the whisper echoed.  
"Misty, misty, misty, misty, misty..." she heard Ash's voice being carried through the still breeze.  
Her head sprung up. He was around here somewhere and she had to find him.  
  
  
Misty panicked. She had been jogging down this highway, involuntary, for half of an hour. Her legs were pained for some strange reason, and she would do anything to stop herself, but she just couldn't. Her pace slowed, thank God. She walked silently as her feet dragged slower, and slower, and slower... She hang her head and whimpered. She was never going to wake up from this nightmare.  
  
  
Ash panicked. He had been jogging down this highway, involuntary, for half of an hour. His legs were pained for some strange reason, and he would do anything to stop himself, but he just couldn't. His pace slowed, thank God. He walked silently as his feet dragged slower, and slower, and slower... He hang his head and whimpered. He was never going to wake up from this nightmare.  
  
Another hour later, Misty sobbed. She didn't know why, but tears poured from her eyes in mighty streams. She could feel the skin on her face dampen and her eyes burn. The collar on her shirt was soaking in teary wetness. Why was she crying? Her knees dropped to the pavement tiredly. What was going on? What was taking over her body?  
  
  
Another hour later, Ash sobbed. He didn't know why, but tears poured from his eyes in mighty streams. He could feel the skin on his face dampen and his eyes burn. The collar on his shirt was soaking in teary wetness. Why was he crying? His knees dropped to the pavement tiredly. What was going on? What was taking over his body?  
  
A whisper slipped from her lips: "Ash.."  
"Ash, ash, ash, ash, ash..." it echoed.  
A whisper slipped from his lips: "Misty..."  
"Misty, misty, misty, misty, misty..." it echoed.  
Her head sprung up as she heard her name called. He was closer than ever!  
His head sprung up as he heard his name called. She was closer than ever!  
Frantically, she looked around for him, but caught no sight of his pokemon league cap or the friendly blue jacket he always wore.  
Frantically, he looked around for her, but caught no sight of those bright red suspencers she always wore or the beautiful orange hair of hers.  
Suddenly, her legs jumped into action and ran. Where were they taking her? Towards Ash, she hoped.  
Suddenly, his legs jumped into action and ran. Where were they taking him? Towards Misty, he hoped.  
She SAW him! Ash! He was right there at the end of the highway!  
He SAW her! Misty! She was right there at the end of the highway!  
"Misty!"  
"Ash!"  
But as soon as they were near, their feet stopped. As hard as they tried, they wouldn't budge no matter what.  
"What's going on?" Misty asked, trying to pick up her feet.   
Each time she lifted up her foot, it seemed to way a hundred pounds. She groaned in anger, and tried stomping, but of course couldn't.  
"I don't know." Ash said and did the same.  
Their backs drooped as they stood only a few feet away. They fell to the ground as their legs gave in. The two lay motionless on the ground and felt a little... dead.  
Dead.  
Dead.  
Dead.  
Was this what death felt like? To be mere inches from the one thing you love most, but there was nothing you could do to get there? Nothing at all? Was death that horrible?!   
A tear slipped from Misty's eye. She felt death.  
"No, don't cry. You'll feel weak..." Ash tried so hard to talk.  
"I already do..." she whispered.   
"I do, I do, I do, I do...."  
A tiny flame licked the side of her cheek. The sudden weakness reminded her of that time she was stun spored. Using as much energy as he could manage, Ash crawled over to Misty on his hands and knees. The weight he had to bear was terrible and reminded him of the time Sabrina's father had used his powers on him. Ash suddenly collasped to the hardend dirt as some flew up in his face, causing him to close him eyes, but once they were closed, they wouldn't open again. Using the rest of his energy, he fumbled for Misty hand, which lay lifeless in the dreamgrounds. As soon as he found it, he held her hand, then, fell asleep. Feeling a familiar hand hold hers, Misty looked up at Ash. He lay with his eyes closed. She wanted to scream, but couldn't. What if this was real? What if this wasn't a dream? It felt too... real. Too... sad. Too... dead.  
Her tears had now formed a small puddle on the ground, but it absorbed all of the moisture as it could, and the puddle disappeared. She tried not to let her eyes close, but they fell heavily. Using all of the energy she had left in her body, she whispered:  
"I love you.."  
  
"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.."  
  
~~~~~End chap. uh... something....~~~~~  
End   
End   
End  
Well, be glad it's not the end of the story. That'd suck. Anywayz, hope you got the end. I'll bet some people's over there wondering, "What the heck was that all about?!" Well, try reading it over if you don't understand. Well, 'till next time, See ya! ^_^ 


	5. I Am Your Evil

"I Am Your Evil"  
By: Babydawg  
  
  
Misty's body suddenly jerked awake. She gasped in the humid hottness as she looked around. She sat up in shock.  
"I'm... I'm back..." she muttered, staring at the greyness that surrounded her.  
"Ash! Ash! We're back!" Misty shouted to the body lying next to her.  
"Huh?" he asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.  
"We're back." she said.  
"Oh... oh, yeah! We are!"  
"Man, that place was like Hell..." Misty said, rubbing her forhead and closing her eyes.  
"I think it was Hell..." Ash said quietly.  
"Good thing we're back. I'd hate to go to that place again." Misty said.  
"Well, I guess you're out of luck." said that raspy voice in the still fog.  
Misty's eyes widened. She had heard that voice before.  
"Who's there?!" Ash yelled into the fog.  
"You." it stated.  
"What are you talking about?!" Ash asked.  
"I am you. I am Misty. I am your evil."  
"Huh?" Misty seemed as confused as Ash.  
"I shall explain." it took a deep breath, "I am you. I am her. I am the demon of your minds. You have set me free and I thank you, but I must destroy you in order to get my body, and believe me..." it slowed.  
They heard the voice from behind them, "I will NOT fail."  
They spun around to where the voice was heard. There was nothing but fog.  
"Where are you?! Show yourself!" Ash yelled into the fog.  
The voice chuckled.  
"Oh, you do not want to see me." it assured gravely.  
"Why not?!"  
"Because... I am your worst nightmare. But if you must..." it stopped.  
"I can talk to you directly..." Ash looked over towards where the voice was.   
There he saw Misty and nothing else. He looked over to Misty in confusion.  
Wait a minute! Misty. Misty. There were two!  
"Ahh, ahh!" Ash said, staring from one to the other.  
"Which of you is real?!"  
"I am." the real Misty said, raising a hand.  
The other smile evily.  
"Or..." it said in Misty's voice.  
"Indirectly." the other Misty disappeared and there stood a black figure in the fog.  
"Wait a second! You can turn into someone else?!" Misty gaped.  
"Of course." it said.  
"But just me and Misty, right?"  
"Let me put it this way..." the voice said. The black figure disappeared and a new body approached.  
There stood Brock. Then, Nurse Joy. Then, Officer Jenny. Then, Professor Oak. Tracey, Rudy, Richie, Jesse, Bulbasaur, Daisy, Pikachu, James, Giovanni, Violet, then finally, Delia.  
"Mom?!" Ash asked.  
"No! I'm not your mum! I am a demon!" the demon screeched as it turned into a black outline in the form of a mewtwo.  
"A DEMON?!" Misty screamed. She hated the word "demon". More than bugs, even.  
"A demon!" it yelled, raising what could be guessed as an arm. The entire world around them turned pitch black. Misty screamed.  
"I can ruin your lives, make your thoughts a living hell! By the way, does it scare you so that I am a demon? Then it may suprise you that hundreds writhe blindly in circles near your feet each day!" it hissed evilly.  
"What are you saying?! That you need to destroy us?!" Ash yelled.  
"Of course! How else do I get my body?!"  
"Why do you even need a body in the first place?" Misty asked.  
The demon laughed loudly. A low rumble was heard, kind of like thunder. Then, there was a lightning bolt to the left, then the right, flashing a mere second and lighting up the gruesome, yet hidden face. Millions of tiny stinging water droplets bit at their arms and stung as if it was a liquid lava.   
"To rule the earth! Once I am human, I shall call upon my fellow demonic friends. As the fourth is tastefully selected and put in place... the ceremony shall begin!" it yelled.  
Misty held onto Ash's hand tighter.  
"Well there's gotta be a way to stop you..." Ash said thoughtfully.  
"Huh?" the lightning bolts stopped.  
"There's always a way to stop something." he said.  
"There is." the demon cleared it's throat.  
"What is it?" Misty asked.  
"Tests. You must have to have passed six tests and if you win, you... well, you win." it said.  
"Oh. Well that sounds easy enough." Ash said.  
"But if you lose..."   
A reddish aura grew faintly underneath the ground.  
"You join me into rulling the world." the demon snickered.  
"NO!! There's no way I'm going to help you!!" Ash shouted.  
"There is no way to draw. You either win or you lose." the demon stated.  
Ash crossed his arms, dropping Misty's hand.  
"He he heh. You can't escape it. You have to fall asleep sometime." it said.  
Misty inhaled deeply, closing her eyes. Why this?  
"Fine." Ash agreed.  
"We start tomorrow." it said and disappeared.  
Ash inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Why this?  
"Is this for real in this dream? I mean, is it for real for real?" Misty asked.  
"Yep." Ash sighed.  
"Well, we start tomorrow." he said opening his eyes.  
The skies, walls, and ground were purely grey. Ash smiled.  
"How 'bout we find that cherry tree?" he asked Misty, holding her hand.  
Misty laughed.   
  
  
"It's just as beautiful as last time." Misty said.  
"Sure is.." Ash said staring at who? None other than Misty.  
"C'mon." Misty said, guiding him towards the stream.  
There was the whole set: the sunset, neither descening nor ascending, the blossoming cherry tree with everlasting blossom petals just made for drifting through the air, the clear stream, and let's not forget the trailing buttercups, voilets, and fresh spring grass that followed Misty's footsteps.  
Misty sighed happily as she sat down near the stream.   
"I'm starting to appreciate the calmness here." she said.  
"Why?" Ash blinked once.  
"After what I went been through... last time..." she said.  
Ash sat down beside her.  
"I can guess it was scary." he said quietly  
"I was so scared!" Misty cried.  
"Of what?"  
"The... everything! I hate this." she yelled, throwing her hands behind her neck.  
"Think of it as an... opportunity." Ash said.  
"I don't get what you mean."  
Ash shook his head smiling. He closed his eyes and made a wish.  
The sky grew dark. Thousands upon millions of bright stars shone proudly above the dreamlands and the sun sank on cue behind the grey wall which was now a black.  
"What are you doing?" Misty asked.  
Ash opened his eyes, grinning.  
"Stars." he said in singsong, flinging his arm up towards the sky.  
Misty laughed. Like Togepi, he always seemed to find a way to make her feel better.  
"Your severe childishneshesshes is quite c-com-comical." Misty giggled.  
Ash stuck out his tongue.   
"Shut up." he said playfully.  
Misty glared at him. "You shut up."  
"No you."  
"No you."  
"No you."  
"No you."  
"You."  
"You."  
"You."  
"You."  
"I said 'you'."  
"Well, I said 'you'."  
"But I said 'you' first." Ash grinned.  
"Yeah, well I said 'you' second." Misty smiled.  
"I don't care."  
"Me neither."  
"Why not?"  
"Because."  
"Because why?"  
"Because I... I actually I don't know..." Misty laughed.  
Ash rolled his eyes. "You're too silly."  
"Oh?" she asked him.  
Misty bent over and snatched the cap off of his head.  
"Hey! Give it!"  
"Stars!" she mimicked, singsong.  
Misty screamed as Ash tried to get the hat from her hands, but she held it as far as she could behind her back.  
"Give it back." he commanded.  
Misty thought for a moment.  
"Why don't you come and get it?" she grinned.  
Ash growled at her and practically jumped for the rescue of his hat.  
They were both standing by the stream. Misty stood on the ground firmly as she held the hat behind her back, continuously teasing Ash. He stomped over to her and tried getting the hat back by grabbing it from behind her, but each time she would spin around and away from him. There was only one way left. He stood in front of her angrily. She was just asking for it.  
"Give... it... back..." he growled.  
"You... go... and... get... it..." she tried growling back through the pursed lips, but her smiling was unstoppable, so where were her laughs.  
Ash wanted so hard to smile, but knew he couldn't give in to her charms. No, he had to get his hat back.  
Ash leaned forward and tried to grab it from around her waist. No avail. She held the hat higher to where her arm was aligned with the back of her neck. Ash tried reaching over her shoulder. Suprisingly, his hand reached to her wrist, but it wasn't close enough... He reached farther until their noses where practically touching. Startled, she tried to back away, but ran into the tree. An idea hit him.  
"Now, give it back, or I'll..."   
"You'll what, Ash? You'll what?" Misty asked.  
"...I'll tickle you." he warned.  
"Oh no! Don't tickle me!" she begged sarcastically.  
Ash raised his eyebrows.   
"You don't think I can tickle?"  
"You couldn't tickle a jigglypuff." she teased.  
His grip tightened and he was pretty much holding her arm up by now. Misty suddenly realized that he wasn't kidding.  
Ash grinned his goofy grin.   
"Uh-uh. No." Misty said, shaking her head. "Don't you dare."  
"Give me my hat, then."  
"No way!" Misty said, her hold on the hat tightened as his grip on her wrist.  
"Do you not realize you are at my mercy?" Ash asked.  
"What?! Your 'mercy'?!"   
"I know how ticklish you are."  
Misty gulped. He was right and she was extremely ticklish. Especially if some boy was tickling her. Especially if Ash was tickling her. And he was the one holding her right arm in the air, and holding her left at her side. Wait!   
'Is Ash holding me?!' Misty thought.  
"Okay, I am ticklish." Misty admitted.  
"Well...?" Ash didn't really know what to do at this point. He'd expected her to have given up by now.  
"Well? Aren't you going to tickle me?" Misty asked.  
"You WANT me to tickle you?!" Ash asked, amazed, not to mention suprised.  
Misty giggled. She lowered her arm and placed the hat on Ash's head exactly the was it was before. Then, she grabbed the arm, still holding onto her wrist, and pulled it around her waist. Ash stood and watched everything go by so quickly.  
Suddenly, she felt a chill on her backside. Ash gasped.  
"What?" she asked.  
"Nothing. Just a chill on my back." he said.  
"Me too." she said, suprised.  
The 'chill' seemed to trickle and glide down their backs. What was that? Misty suddenly gasped at the sight of Ash desinigrating.  
"No! Not now!" Misty stressed.  
"Your disappearing again!" Ash pointed out.  
"If I catch Brock with the paper cup again, I swear I'm gonna kill him!" Misty growled.  
"What? What paper cup?"  
  
  
Brock chuckled evilly as he called back Misty's starmie into it's pokeball.  
  
  
  
~~~~~End ch. ? You figure it out...~~~~~  
Anyway, you like? Lot's more to do, so little time...  
Bye! ^_^ 


	6. Up Close and Personal With Shauna!

Up Close and Personal With Shauna!  
By: LilCupidjr.  
  
Sunset: the grandest time of the day. Well, not for Misty...  
"Misty?" Ash knocked on the bathroom door.  
"You know, I really do think that she needs a doctor, Brock." Ash said, over his shoulder.  
"Nah, it's just a bug going around. Quit worrying, Ash. She's tough. She'll pull through."  
Brock was right, but for some reason Ash still worried for her. Misty groaned as she opened the door.  
"Excuse me..." Misty said, pushing Ash out of the way weakly.  
Ash slipped an arm around her and helped her walk to the bed. Brock raised an eyebrow as he looked up from the book he was reading and watched them in interest. Suddenly, a once quiet togepi in his lap trilled happily, and Brock instantly remembered that he was supposed to be reading a book.  
"Lay down. You need rest." Ash commanded.  
"No I don't..." Misty grumbled, but lay down anyway.  
"Pika-pi pika pik." Pikachu said, pulling the thin sheets to Misty's chin.  
"I'm gonna go to the store. We should probably get her some medicine." Brock said, setting up a bookmark and placing the book on the floor.  
Ash looked over to Misty, then back at Brock.   
"I'm gonna go too." he said quickly and leaving Misty's side.  
"Aren't you going to stay with Misty?"   
"No. You even said she'd be fine." Ash said.  
"Okay..." Brock said unsurly.  
"You comin' Pikachu?"   
"Pika-pi Pika!" it shouted angrily and jumped on Misty's stomach with it's arms out as if protecting her.  
"What?! You're staying?! Pikachu, Misty'll be fine. You don't need to worry." Ash said with an unsure smile; even he knew he was lying to Pikachu, but he was also lying to himself.  
"Pika!" it said shaking it's head.  
"Fine, but I'm going." Ash said.  
Ash and Brock left just a few seconds afterwards without saying goodbye, even. Misty looked up at the pikachu shaking it's head sadly.  
"Do you think Ash really does worry about me?" she asked hopefully.  
It looked up at her.   
"Pika.." it hummed with a smile.  
"You think? Maybe... a lot even?" Misty grinned for the first time that day.  
"Pika... pi... pikachu..." it hummed teasingly again.  
Misty laughed lightly. She never thought she'd laugh again, but there was always that laughing part that stood in the way.  
  
Viridian; always a beautiful city in the night time... too bad it isn't night time, yet. The sun was still setting over the many pine trees, a few pidgies chirped cheerfully from their many branches, even the noctowl have begun to sing in their deep vocalized hoots.  
Once Ash and Brock were walking down the street, Brock eyed Ash suspiciously.  
"Okay, you had better tell me what's going on."  
Ash's nerves jumped immediantly.  
"Uh... with what?" he asked trying to sound as innocent as possible.  
"Misty!"  
"What about her?"  
Brock grunted. "I've been watching you two... You guys are acting so strange..."   
"Hm? Strange?"  
"Must I give you details!" Brock exaggerated.  
Ash yawned.  
"Well, today for example." Brock started.  
"What?! We haven't flirted once today!"  
Brock stared at him a while, wondering if he had even noticed what he just said. Ash suddenly felt his cheeks grow warmer than usual. Brock wanted so much to burst out laughing.  
"It was a little slim, but the way you helped her to the bed. It was... so CUTE!" Brock exclaimed.  
"CUTE?!"  
"Yeah..." Brock sighed. "The way your arm was all wrapped around her..."  
Ash realized that he hadn't even noticed he'd done that at the time...  
"So?" he mumbled.  
"'So'? What do you mean "so"? You even do that at night! What... twice already, I think."  
"So?" Ash mumbled again.  
"So? So?! So, when will you two just get it together?!"  
"There will be no 'getting together'! Okay?!" Ash shouted, waving his arms in the air.  
Brock sighed.   
"You know, I worry about you two sometimes. Always hiding your feelings."  
"There's nothing to hide." Ash growled.  
"Fine." Brock settled the entire conversation with the last word.  
Ash kicked a random pebble down into the dirt that blew up at the slightest breeze.  
  
  
Brock was looking through pharmacy mumbling the many name brands of the medicines. Ash picked up a short pink bottle, then set it down again with a frown.   
"You know, I don't think we'll find the perfect medicine for Misty if we don't even know what she has yet." Ash spoke up.  
"I think it's just a little cold or something. All she needs maybe is something to settle her stomach." Brock said.  
Ash blinked. He suddenly realized something. He was in a pharmacy looking for medicine for Misty. Misty's sick. Misty's sick! Why is he here if Misty is in bed sick?! Brock heard Ash gasp and looked up at him.  
"Did you find the right bottle?" he asked.  
"Why am I here?" Ash whispered.  
Brock stared at him a while. "You're here to find some medicine for Misty." he explained.  
"No! Misty's sick! I gotta go." Ash said, pushing by Brock and carelessly making his way through the crowd. Brock was left in wonder and holding up another bottle of medicine.  
A few women screamed as Ash flew through the crowd of people and out the doors into the road. A passing car skidded to a stop, its horn blaring. As soon as he made out the path to go back to the Pokemon Center, Ash ran as fast as he could towards the Misty lying sick in bed with who knows what kind of sickness.  
  
  
"Togeprii!" Misty's togepi shrilled happily as it hopped onto her bed.  
Misty lay asleep, pomised to the fact of Pikachu babysitting her togepi. Sure enough, Pikachu grabbed the togepi at once and hopped of her bed in fear of the little egg getting sick.  
"Pika pika." it lectured with a pointed finger.  
  
"Well, here I am. Here with..." Misty sighed, "...nothing to do..."  
Misty sat lazily on the dreamgrounds waiting for... well... nothing to happen. What boredom.  
Misty sighed again and wiped the cold, grey ground causing a few sprouts of grass to form. She mindlessly plucked the grass from its 'roots'.  
'Wish Ash was here... but..."   
She looked towards the empty sky-less sky.  
'...wishes only work if he was here in the first place...'  
  
Ash breathed in slowly and reached for the doorknob that lead to the room in which Misty slept.  
'Great. She's probably upset that I didn't stay with her,' Ash thought. 'She'll be upset and yelling at me even in such a terrible position she's in, and I gotta go and get her all upset...'  
He took a last breath and turned the doorknob with a shaking palm. He craned his neck into the room. Misty was asleep.  
Breathing a sigh of releif, Ash closed the door gently. He walked to the bed: probably contaminated with germs beyond thought, he still risked his health and sat. Staring at Misty's shut eyelids, he confessed.  
"You know, I wish you were awake. I wish I could talk to you and actually tell you how I feel. But the truth is, I'm afraid. Pikachu's right; I'm a real coward when it comes to this. I am nothing compared to Superman when it comes to love. I'm sorry. I'll try harder. But until then," he paused to softly kiss her cheek. "I hope that the way I am is enough."  
After another long pause sitting in the strange silence with the girl he loved, he spoke up, "But wishes only work in dreams... and then only if you're in them..."  
Ash blinked. He suddenly felt a strong ping of sleepiness. Yawning, he lay down next to Misty, his eyelids heavy at the beautiful mention of the word 'sleep'. He reached for her hand, even though he was incredibly tired at this point, and held it. Giving in to the urging pleasantness of sleep, he fell into the dark pit of his awaiting dreams.  
  
  
Misty sighed again as she plucked the last grass root from the dreamgrounds. She would love to be training her pokemon at this point, but her pokeballs were completely empty. Were they not allowed to share her dreams? 'Guess not...   
Tired of pulling grass from the 'floor', she lay down on her back. Suddenly, something caught her attention. There was a tiny black dot above her head that looked about twenty feet away and the size of a small marble. Her forehead wrinkled as she concentrated on the tiny dot that began to grow wider. As soon as it grew about the size of herself, she gasped and was about to jump to her feet, when something heavy fell from it... and it landed on top of her.  
The 'burden' began to groan slightly and stir. Misty held her breath when she noticed the Pokemon League cap under her chin and 'the burden's' chin... uh... somewhere else... The person looked up at her. She took in more air when she saw Ash's face within inches from her own. She could feel her cheeks, forehead, and the back of her neck grow warmer than ever. About what seemed ten minutes went by when Misty looked around at nothing in particular and then back at Ash.  
"Are you able to move?" she asked quietly, the blush rapidly spreading.  
"Uh.. oh, yeah..." Ash chuckled nervously and sat up, turning a bit red also.  
"Hmm," Misty looked at the blackness above her slowly disappearing. "I never enter this place like that." Her skin color was returning.  
"Neither do I. I don't know why that just happened..." Ash stood, adjusting his cap.  
"Why or how?" Misty asked.  
"Either way."  
"So your saying you mind that that just happened that way?" Misty asked a bit suprised.  
"Hm? What happened what way? You're beginning to confuse me." Ash looked at her cautiously.  
"Uh... nevermind..." Misty turned pink again.  
"So, you made it. Good." hummed that evil tone.  
A cloud of fog suddenly gushed into the dream and a black figure stood still and silent for a moment.  
"Oh great, it's you." Ash said with sarcasm.  
"You have come for the tests." it commanded.  
"Oh... I forgot about that..." Misty admitted.  
"Me too." Ash said, looking over at Misty.  
"It doesn't matter. There was no way to study; no way to cheat. You must use your mind to control the games we will play." the figure said raspily.  
"Games? You think this is a game? My friggin life is on the line here!" Ash tensed.  
"Well..." the demon chuckled. "It sure is a game for me."  
Misty hated this thing. This demon.  
"Now! For your first test!" the demon shouted.  
Suddenly, the air grew warm and the scenery glew bright. Grass sprung up from the ground in millions of green blades around them. Daisies poked up from the dirt and between the transforming rock. A low clash was heard and never stopped. It was a little loud at this point. The sky was light blue, but was hard to see through the millions of tiny leaves that covered the sky. The ground seemed to be nearly pure rock and across from Misty was a waterfall. They were at some waterfall.  
"Oh! This place is sooo romantic!" Misty swooned happily, absorbing every detail.  
"What are we doing here?" Ash asked.  
"This is the perfect scenery for your test." the demon sneered.  
Misty suddenly paused.  
'Oh god I hope we don't have to do anything... uh... embarrassing...' she thought.  
"Hmm... yes. This may end embarrassing for you two..." the demon chuckled. "NOW!"   
The demon threw his arms up in the air and a giant sheild of flowing darkness covered his form. About two seconds later, the darkness disappeared. There stood Misty.  
"Oh no! Not again!" Ash said and dropped to his knees.  
The demon chuckled in Misty's voice. "Nice to see you too, Ash." it said.  
"Huh?!" he looked up.  
"You need to figure out which Misty is which. Pick the right choice, you win." it stated simply. "But now, I need a name. Shauna. My name is Shauna."  
"Shauna?" Ash asked.  
"You never hear of too many Shaunas walking around these days." Misty whispered. Ash snickered.  
"Well, I guess I already won. I choose this one." Ash said, pointing at the Misty standing next to him.  
Misty blushed. The words 'I choose this one' from Ash's mouth had somehow affected her...  
"Oh, no no no Ashyboy. It won't be nearly this easy." Shauna assured.  
Shauna walked over to Misty and stood next to her. Suddnely, a blur accured. A blur between Misty and Shauna. Were they switching places? Ash stared; his human eyes had no way of telling who went where. Soon, it stopped. Both Mistys were on the ground gasping.  
"That was so weird! Hey!" they both shouted.  
"Don't say what I say! Stop that! Stop!" they pointed.  
"You're Shauna!"  
"No, you're Shauna!"  
"But, I'm the real Misty!"  
"No, I'm the real Misty!"  
They turned to Ash.  
"Ash! Can't you see which one is real?! She's the fake!"  
Ash stared at one, then the other. Then one, then the other. Oh god, they looked exactly the same... He fell to the ground in confusion.  
"Ash! Stand up. Pick me already so we can get this over with." said the Misty from the right.  
"No Ash don't! She's trying to trick you! Pick me!" yelled the Misty from the left.  
"He won't pick you! You're a demon!"  
"He will pick me because the only demon around here is you!"  
"What?! You're only trying to trick him."  
"No, you are! You want our bodies so bad you gotta dress in women's clothes!"  
"Shut up!!" Ash shouted.  
They fell silent.  
"I figured it out. I know what to do..." Ash said slowly.  
"What?" the Misty from the right asked.  
"Hm?" asked the Misty from the left.  
Ash took a deep breath. "I know that Shauna- whoever Shauna is over there- knows what Misty knows." another deep breath. "so..."  
"Well? Get on with it!" commended one of the Mistys.  
Ash couldn't tell which one was which, his head was bent over. Then, it lifted.  
"Misty, whichever one you are, I need to tell you something, but since I can't say it to your face, I won't even say it looking up." he closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Misty. I don't know if you know this or not, but..." he tried to breath through his clenched teeth "I... really, really like you... a lot." he said quietly.  
"What do you mean 'a lot'?"  
"'a lot' like in how much?"  
"A lot. Maybe love even... I don't know..." he continued.  
They both gasped. Ash looked up at them red in the face. They each had tears in their eyes. Each were blushing.   
'Oh great. This is gonna be harder than I thought...' Ash thought painfully.  
"So what I was planning to do... I need to... You see, I can't tell which Misty is which by asking a question because Shauna knows everything that Misty knows. So since I know that I love Misty.... 'God, I've been waiting forever to say that.' ... then my instincts should tell me which one is Misty..."   
There was a looong pause.  
"...if I kiss her."  
The two Mistys had turned bright red by now, blushing to the extreme. So much was running through Ash and Misty's minds that the clashing waterfall had seemed ignored. Shauna, however, seemed to be enjoying the veiw.  
"Kiss me?" they both asked; one naturally suprised, one acting everything out.  
Ash nodded.  
"Which one..." he asked pointing to either of them. "goes first?"  
They looked at eachother. Misty hated the fact that Ash was going to kiss a total stranger, not to mention a total demon, yet was too stunned at the sound of his voice offering her a kiss.  
After another long pause, Ash spoke up.  
"Okay. I'll choose. Let's just get this over with."  
Ash stood and walked over towards the Misty on the left. Misty suddenly tensed as she watched Ash approach her slowly.   
'Oh my gosh, he's going to kiss me first. Well, not that that's a bad thing...' she thought. 'Oh, why am I so worried, he said that he loved me... or at least really liked me...'  
When he reached Misty, he had a strange feeling that this one was actually her. Then, he looked over to the other Misty, who stared at him in shock.  
"Okay. I don't know if you're Shauna or not, so let's just do this." he said.  
"Okay." she whispered.  
"Okay." he whispered back.  
They stood still. Nothing happened.  
"Aren't you supposed to kiss me?" Misty asked.  
"Yeah... but..." he muttered.  
"What?"  
Ash sighed and trudged over to the other Misty.  
"Could you please turn around. Even if you're the real Misty, I wouldn't want you to see this." he said quietly to her.  
Shauna growled. "You expect me to just turn my back while you go kiss some demon." she said coldly, turning her back.  
Ash rolled his eyes and left Shauna's side.  
"Okay." he said as he stood in front of her.  
"Okay." she replied.  
As Ash expected another stalling silence, Misty leapt forth towards him into his arms. His eyes sprung open in total suprise as her lips met his in a lock of pure passion and love. But... something wasn't right... Something wasn't... something didn't feel right... didn't taste right... Other than that, everything was perfect. Perfect. Ash wanted so much to smile, but lips can only do one job at a time. Misty, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy every split second of his lips resting on hers. A small tear of jubilation fell down her cheek. She had been waiting so long for this. It seemed exactly like her dream. A dream... that was what this was... But it didn't really matter. As long as Ash's real spirit knew he was kissed by her, that was good enough for her. She could only pray that Brock wouldn't find any water anytime soon... Ash wanted so much to enjoy this, but something just wasn't right! That taste... it was horrible! A kiss isn't supposed to taste so horrible! He began to have second thoughts about this Misty being the true Misty...  
Ash figured that five minutes were enough for one kiss and pulled away.   
"What's wrong?" she asked.  
"Nothing, it's just..." Ash licked his lips and winced at the horrible taste that stung his taste buds like acid.  
"I'm not that terrible!" Misty shouted.  
Ash shook his head, his eyes still closed in dissatisfaction. Misty put her hands on her hips.   
"Fine! It was your choice to kiss me, anyway!" she shouted as Ash walked over to the other Misty: Shauna.   
Misty continued to curse under her breath until they became louder. She had not expected her first kiss to end up like this.  
"You ready?" Ash asked.  
Shauna nodded and smiled temptingly. Ash grinned. They slowly pulled into a kiss. A soft, tender kiss with all of the emotion and love that a true kiss could ever need. Warm and beautiful, the kiss only lasted a few minutes until Shauna broke away slowly and smiled lovingly. Ash opened his eyes and smiled back. Misty wanted so much to kill Shauna at the moment.  
"I've made my decision." Ash declared, still smiling at Shauna.  
  
~~~~~End Chapter "Up Close and Personal With Shauna!"~~~~~  
Ooooohh! What a cliffhanger! Hang on! Well, whaddya think? Who's he gonna choose? Demon or woman? Hmm...  
See yaz! ^^ 


	7. In The Wake

In The Wake  
by: LilCupidjr.  
  
"I've made my decision." Ash declared, still smiling at Shauna.  
Misty's skin shook in anger at that... that demon!   
"You're the demon." Ash said excitedly, shaking Shauna's shoulders.  
"What?!" Shauna screeched.  
Misty's eyes widened. "Yeah, what?"  
"She's Shauna." Ash grinned at Misty.   
Shauna sighed. "Alright, I'm Shauna. Ya happy now?" Then, the Misty form shattered into billions of desinigrating materials and the black figure in the fog appeared.  
"How'd you know?" Misty asked, walking to him and amazed at the wiseness.  
"Well... Shauna's a great kisser and all, but it all seemed too... fake and fantasy, you know, the kind in dreams. Besides, yours tasted like puke anyway and Shauna can't be puking if she doesn't have a body."  
Mad. Misty was mad.  
"Well, I'm sorry if you didn't enjoy that! I can't help it if I'm sick!" Misty stressed.  
"I'm sorry, but you asked me how I figured it out, so I told you!" Ash surrendered.  
Misty growled at him.  
"Well, this is just great fun and all, but I'm afraid there is no time for your second test." the demon sneered.  
"What? What do you mean there's no time?" Misty asked.  
"You two are returning." it answered.  
"Returning? Returning where?" Ash asked.  
Shauna pointed at his feet. They were already gone.  
  
Misty's eyes wandered open as she inhaled the sweetness of the afternoon dusk. She sat up, but seemed chained to the bed as a certain hand held hers down. There was Ash, layng beside her still unawakened. A small smile crept to her lips as she realized what he said in the dream. Their dream. The dream where everything and all is and was possible and what had seemed impossible was then possible and fluent. Heh, who would've thought. Just then, Ash's eyes opened. His face kept expressionless as his eyes stared into Misty's for a while. She decided to break the unfamiliar silence.  
"Did you mean it?" she asked quietly.  
"Mean what?"  
Misty's eyes narrowed. "You did have the same dream as me, right?"  
Ash grinned. "Oh, yeah."  
Misty licked the front of her teeth.   
"I think I'll just go brush my teeth again." she said as her hand left his in a hurry towards the bathroom, once not in the reason to lose, but to gain.  
  
Brock hummed to himself a stray tune, probably of love or romance, to himself. Carrying the large grocery bags, he reached out a hand for the doorknob.  
  
Misty slowly strolled from the bathroom wiping her chin with a small washcloth.  
"Did you brush your teeth?" Ash asked, uncertain what to say.  
"Yeah." Misty rolled her eyes. She sat down on the bed, next to Ash.  
"So, uh... when you were sick, where did you hurt?" Ash questioned.  
Misty's expression quickly changed.   
"Oh. Where I hurt? You mean like on the inside?"   
"Yeah."  
"Well... mostly in the stomach." she answered.  
Pikachu's eyes blinked open.  
"Like where?" Ash asked.  
"What do you mean "like where"?"  
"Where in your stomach?"  
Misty stared at him a while, a little confused. Finally, she gave up and fell back on the bed. Ash's eyes followed her as she lay down. Suddenly, she pulled up her shirt and pointed a finger on a lower quadrant of her belly. Ash's eyes tore away.  
"Right here." she announced, looking up at him.  
The little yellow rat snickered, unheard.  
"Oh." Ash said after a while; a long while.  
"What's wrong?" Misty asked as she stared at the side of Ash's red face.  
"N-nothing." he stuttered. Ash put a hand on his face to try to stop or at least hide the evil blush that grew on his face.  
"Ash?" Misty felt Ash's shoulders tense up as soon as she put a hand on his shoulder.  
"What?" his voice cracked.  
"Ash, you're as red as a tomato!" Misty laughed.  
"I-I am?" his voice cracked again, which made Misty laugh even harder. Pikachu joined in.  
"Well, if that was going to freak you out so much, maybe I shouldn't have done it." Misty admitted.  
"I'm not freaked out!" Ash's hand fell from his face.  
"Ash. why are you so red then?"  
He didn't answer.  
"Why are you blushing?" she repeated.  
"... I don't know." he whispered.  
"Why... Oh. Ash, I know you've seen my belly before. I always wear those bikinis around you so I don't get why that bothers you so much."  
"It-doesn't bother me."  
"What?"  
"It wasn't just your belly." he replied.  
Misty inhaled a deep breath. "Hm? What else where there?"  
"Your uh... something else. Forget about it..." Ash waved a hand.  
"Ash-"  
"I said nevermind." he said sternly.  
The air around them grew quiet.  
"Well," Misty began, slapping her knees. "Guess what?"  
"What?" he asked, relieved to be delivered from the silence.  
"Guess what you did?" she sang.  
"What?" he asked again.  
"Guess." she smiled.  
"I... give up."  
"You..." she sneakily grabbed a pillow from behind her.  
"Kissed me!" she shouted excitedly as she hit him on the back of his head with the pillow.  
"Wa?! Oh, yeah..." Ash asked, now laying on the floor.  
"You kissed me. You kissed me. Ash Ketchum kissed me." Misty sang as she danced around the room.  
"Jeez Misty, it wasn't that great."  
Misty paused, then smacked him to the floor as hard as she could with the pillow. Ash lay in total shock.  
"Why'd you hafta go and ruin my mood?!" she shouted.  
"I'm sorrrrryyyy!" he whined. Pikachu laughed crazily, still mysteriously unnoticed by the lovestruck preteens.  
That was when Brock walked in. Misty looked up at him as a few pillow feathers floated about the air.  
"What happened?" Brock asked, stunned at the sight, but could make an accurate guess with Ash laying on the floor and Misty holding a pillow leaking feathers. Both, might I add, completly red in the face. Misty chuckled.  
"Heh heh heh... Brock? I'm gonna kill you." she stated.  
"Huh?" both Ash and Brock asked simultaneously.  
"I'm... I'm gonna KILL YOU!" Misty screamed as she charged towards Brock.  
Brock dropped the groceries as well as his jaw.  
"No! Misty!" Ash grabbed hold of her arms and tried to restrain her anger.  
"Let me go! I'm gonna kill him!" she shouted at Ash.  
"You're not gonna do anything, Misty!"   
Brock backed up towards the wall, completely silent. Misty began to calm down.  
"Are you okay know?" Ash asked, loosening his grip on her shoulders.  
Misty turned to look at him with an evil smile on her face only to get a questionable one from Ash's. Without further ado, she grabbed his hands and gently slid them down to her waist and held them in place as she laid her head on his shoulder, smiling.  
"Uh... did I miss something while I was gone?" Brock asked the two.  
"Pi-ka. Pi pi pika chu pika. Pika Pika-pi chu pi pichu-pika. Pi ka kachu---"   
Ash threw a hand over Pikachu's mouth and frantically shook his head. "No!"  
Misty winked at him and grinned. Brock caught the message and nodded.  
"Hm. I think I left something in the lobby." Brock said as he walked to the door.  
"Pika! Pi chu pika..." Pikachu chuckled and followed Brock out the door.  
Ash flashed a "don't leave me here!" look, but Brock and Pikachu were gone before he could respond.  
"Guess what?" Misty asked.  
"Uh... What?" Ash asked painfully.  
"Guess." Misty urged.  
"I kissed you?" he asked.  
"Yes!" Misty shouted happily and embraced him in a short notice.  
"Misty! You're gonna crush my spine!" Ash gasped.  
"Oh!" Misty jumped off of him and stood in deep thought. "I'm gonna call my parents, my sisters, my friends..."   
'Oh great, now she's going to tell everyone and my mom's probably going to find out with her big mouth..' Ash thought.  
"..maybe e-mail my cousins, of course, I can't leave out Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Jake, and maybe even..."  
"Misty! Stop!" Ash shouted.  
"What?" she blinked once and stared at Ash, still holding the film of blush on his face.  
"Why can't we just keep this our little secret, okay?" Ash asked sweetly.  
"No." Misty scoffed.  
"But why not?!"  
"'Cause, for once, I'm doing better than my sisters have and are doing. Thank you very much."  
"But, Misty... Oh, can't we pleeeaaase keep this a secret?" Ash begged.  
"Why?"  
"If my mom finds out, I'm gonna be grounded for life!" Ash complained.  
Misty stared down at the boy on his knees, begging for her to keep the kissing secret a secret because of the wrath of his own mother.   
"Fine, if it's going to be that big of a deal to you." she giggled.  
"Thank you." Ash sighed and bowed his head.  
"So, do you think you still have it in ya?" she asked him slyly.  
"Have what in me?" he asked as he stood up.  
"You know... kissing? Can you still kiss?" she asked.  
"I think s- oh, no." he said quickly.  
"Oh, really? Ash, are you lying?" she tried to sound serious.  
"No. Yes. Maybe." he answered, a little unsure what she was going to do.  
"I think you are." she said as she approached him.  
He tried to swallow, but his throat seemed sewn together.  
"You know, I can still tell everyone about... us." she said quietly.  
"No!"  
"Well, maybe I can change my mind for a little kiss."  
Ash could feel his feet naturally back away. He had to think of something, quick.  
"Okay!" he replied cheerfully.  
"Huh?" Misty asked, shocked.  
Ash leaned and kissed her cheek and began to spring out the door when Misty grabbed his collar.  
"Uh-uh, that wasn't good enough, Ash."  
"Ohhhh, it was for me!" he whinned, still trying to pry himself from Misty's grasp.  
  
"What in the world is taking them so long?" Brock asked Pikachu, even though it was sleeping in a lounge chair next to him, and he set down a Pokemon Breeder magazine. He sat back on the lounge chair, imagining the look on Ash's face when he comes storming through the hall, screaming from the wrath of Misty. It didn't take him too long to see.  
"Fine then! Leave!" Misty screamed, but could barely be heard over Ash's screaming down the hall. A door slammed.  
"Oh my." Nurse Joy said as she leaned over the counter to see down the hallway.  
"Ahhhh!!!" Ash screamed as he skidded into the lounge.  
Brock watched in amusement.  
"What's going on?" he smiled.  
Ash gasped for air and clumsily fell into the chair beside Brock.  
"She won't quit." he managed to say.  
"Who won't quit what?"  
"Misty won't quit trying to kiss me!"   
Brock did his best to hold in the unbearable laughter that suddenly clouded his throat.  
"What's so funny?! That's not funny! Hey! Don't you laugh!" Ash warned, staring at Brock's wide grin. A tear fell from Brock's eye.  
"I'm not gonna laugh." he swallowed all the laughter and held it in for as long as he could.  
"Thanks." Ash sighed.  
After ten minutes of silence, Brock burst with laughter.  
"Hey, shut up!" Ash said, quite offended.  
"I...can't..."  
Ash growled as he slunk back in his chair. "Brock, I don't know what to do."  
"Well, what happened." the laughter turned into momentarily chuckling.  
"Well... at some point I finally told her, you know, how I feel. At first, I swear she looked like she just doubted it or didn't even like me back, but after about a few hours..." he paused for a moment and smiled, "she was dancing and singing and it was all fun and giggles to her!"  
"Well Ash, that was just shock." Brock said.  
"Probably, but what do I do now?! All she want's to do is kiss me and to tell you the truth, I'm not the best kisser on the earth!"  
"Well, Ash, do you want to kiss her?" Brock questioned.  
"Well...yeah, I just don't know how."  
"Did you kiss her yet?"  
The memories suddenly flooded Ash's mind. The dream, the confession, the Misty double, Shauna, the kiss... Yes, the answer was yes."  
"Yeah...but..." Ash murmured.  
"Well, was it before or after 'she was dancing and singing and it was all fun and giggles to her'?"  
Ash chuckled. "Both."  
"Well then I don't see what the big problem is! I'm pretty sure she's never kissed anyone before and you've just told me that you haven't so might as well learn together!" Brock supported.  
All of the sudden, this advice sounded really strange to Ash.  
"Look, just trust me, it'll work out." Brock assured.  
"How do you know?"  
"I don't" Brock answered simply and picked up the Breeder's magazine. He chuckled, "just trust me."  
Ash sighed as he stood up. "She probably isn't going to let me in anymore." he said to himself, quietly.  
  
  
Ash took a deep, cleansing breath as he reached for the doorknob of their rented room.  
"Misty?" he asked gently as he knocked on the door.  
There was no answer.  
"Misty?" he asked louder.  
She didn't answer for about ten minutes.  
"What do you want, Ash?" she sounded like she was right on the other side of the door with her voice being so clear.  
"Misty? Can I come in?" he asked.  
"No."  
"Why not?"  
"'Cause I said so." she replied coldly.  
"Please?"  
"No."  
Ash sighed, "Misty, you hafta let me in. I can get Nurse Joy to get the keys to this door."  
She didn't answer him.  
After about fifteen minutes, Ash rested his chin on the door tiredly, still waiting for Misty to answer.  
"Are you still out there?" she asked.  
"Yeah, let me in." he jiggled the doorknob.  
Ash could hear Misty growling quietly on the other side. Maybe a bribe would do the trick...  
"Hey, I'll tell you what," Ash said, "If ya let me in, I'll kiss you."   
Ash suddenly heard a dry gasp from behind him. He turned to look over his shoulder to see an elderly couple look away and enter their own room.  
"Look, I promise." he whispered, sure that she'd hear him.  
"Really?" she asked quietly.  
"Yeah, now just let me in."  
There was a short pause when he heard the door knob shake a bit and a slight click. He turned the doorknob. The door opened. Misty's arm shot out, grabbed Ash's jacket, and yanked him inside.  
"Now, you'd better not have lied." she growled, nailing him to the wall.  
"No, I swear!" Ash renounced his pride to the side to the mad redhead in front of him.  
"Okay." she let go.  
Ash watched her walk away from him, wondering where to start. She turned her back to face him.  
"Now, how do you-"  
She stopped to stare at Ash's face. She could swear that he had NEVER looked at her like that since the day she met him.   
"Uh, Ash?" she asked.  
His head tilted a bit and his eyes were very concentrated, yet relaxed in a way.  
"Hm?" he asked.  
"Is... there something wrong?"   
"Nope."  
"Oh, okay." she said.  
They stood quietly, Misty still staring at Ash's strange expression.  
"Hey Mist, you ever kissed anyone before?"   
"No. Well, there was you, but not anyone else before that-"  
"No, I meant in real life." Ash said.  
"Oh. Then, no."  
"Me neither." he admitted. "So I guess..." he walked up to her, "this'll be our first." he placed his hands on her shoulders.  
"Ash? You're scaring me." she said quietly.  
In his mind, he was laughing like crazy. 'Ha! Now she's the scared one! Oh, Misty how the tables have turned!'  
Misty could have sworn that she had caught Ash staring at her lips for a second, then back into her eyes, which seemed to soften at the sight of the strong love he held in his. Well... it was either love or insaneness...  
'God, Brock, please do not walk in now.' Misty mentally begged in prayer.  
As Ash zeroed in on her lips, Misty felt herself being torn in two. First, there was this creepy half without a meaning wanted her to slap him in the face and run away, particularly to nowhere, but the other half held the pure excitement of the moment. Like I said, is it love or insaneness? Maybe... both?  
Ash, on the other hand, felt as if his body had been working for him the entire time. All he had to do, really, was watch, and under certain circumstances, feel. It was kind of strange, really.   
Now, as Misty could practically feel Ash's breath on her chin, it felt as if there was a strange substance or feeling standing between them. It was a thick feeling of something maybe supernatural. Was it even fear or restrain? Maybe something else... whatever it was, it increased the feeling of Misty's creepy side that told her to run away with the memories dragging behind her. Or maybe it was the only fact that she could barely breathe right now...   
Suddenly, that creepy side expanded and surged through her body like a raging wave of electricity that crashed into her fingertips and toes. Her shoulders stiffined and her skin shook. Her jaw locked. There was something wrong... Was this... Shauna??? Was Shauna trying to posess her??? No! That can't happen! Not now!!! Something told her that it wasn't her choice...   
'But why isn't it doing anything to Ash? Why me? Why now?!' she thought.  
"Stop being nervous." Ash commanded and lightly rubbed her shoulders.  
Misty looked down to the ground quickly, in fear that her facial expressions might change suddenly and she'd look... evil. Evil and scary. As soon as her chin hit her chest, and knocking Ash's forehead backwards, the jolts stopped with a strong jerk, almost knocking Misty to the ground. Well, not exactly on the ground...  
Instead of flailing her arms about like an idiot or maybe even taking the time to try avoiding the fall, Misty fell like a concrete pillar and brought down Ash as well. Falling to the ground with a thud, Misty landed on top of Ash's chest. Gosh, this seemed familiar. Well, it would have seemed familiar, if Misty was even there in the first place...  
  
  
~~~End for Chap. something...~~~  
Wheee!!! Another hangover! Err... I mean... Wheee!!! Another cliffhanger! *sweatdrops* Anywayz, I'm soooo sorry that I left ya'll in suspicion to soooo long. It was a bad time for such a HUGE cliffhanger, especially with school and all, not to mention that GIANT writer's block. Well, anyway, I hope that I'll get the next chappy done soon. ^_^ hope you liked! 


	8. Test Two: From The Heart

Test Two: With The Heart  
by: LilCupidjr.  
  
  
DISCLAIMER (You Must Read This So I Don't Get Sued) : I do not own the song "When You Say Nothing At All", sung by Ronan Keating. I heard this song off of the Notting Hill soundtrack and just fell in love with it. There, now don't sue me.  
  
  
Shocked by the sudden fall of Misty, Ash slowly sat up, careful not to startle her farther.  
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked her.  
Instead of answering or even really moving, Misty looked up from his shirt. A still flash of evil sparked in her eyes.  
"Why should I tell you?" she remarked.  
"What?" he asked confused.  
"I said" the mystical bluish-green tint in her eyes began to fade and become a pitch black. "I don't care for you caring for me."  
"Huh?!" he asked, apparently not catching onto any of these weird riddles.  
Misty's eyes sparked in anger. Some of the strands of her red hair stood on end as she growled.  
"Get off of me!" she shouted.  
"But... Misty, you're on me...."  
"I said GET OFF!!!" she screamed.  
Utterly shocked of the sudden anger that she never seemed to posess, Ash moved quickly out from under her and stood. Misty jumped up in a flash and stared at him dead in the eye.   
"Now you listen. I don't want to have anything to do with you! You leave me alone. I have a life to attend to!" she shouted.  
"But-" Ash muttered.  
"Don't you "but" me! Now, did you get what I said?!"  
"Misty..." his eyes watered.  
"Don't call me that! From now on you call me "Miss". Understand?!"   
Ash nodded, trying to back away, but his feet seemed glued to the floor.  
"Don't even try to follow me." she turned to the door. "I want you to leave me alone!" she shouted and left in an instant, the door slamming rudely behind her.  
"Mist..." Ash whispered, but was interrupted by the sudden sobs that cluttered his throat.  
Suddenly, he dropped to his knees as if the weight of his own tears was the heaviest bearing on Earth.  
  
Misty stomped into the lobby and spotted Brock and Pikachu sitting in a chair, sleeping.  
"Hey you!" she shouted and trudged up to him. She reached down on the table and picked up a Masters Diary magazine and threw the heavy booklet on his lap harshly. "Wake up!"  
"What?!" Brock sat up quickly, his eyes wide open.  
"You make sure that Ash stays away from me! I'm leaving!" she turned towards the doorway.  
"Wait! Why?!" he called after her.  
"Because he's such a jerk!" she shouted back at him at the top of her lungs.  
Brock watched as Misty walked down the street in anger, not even sure of where she was going.  
"What the-" the mumbled.   
"Pika..." Pikachu awoke, rubbing his eyes. "Pika-pi? Pika pichu?"  
"I don't know, Pikachu..." Brock whispered.  
  
Brock threw open the door shouting, "What did you do to Misty, Ash?"  
Then, he spotted him on the floor, crying.  
"What did Misty do to you, Ash?" he asked.  
"I... don't know... what... happened." he said between the harsh sobs that poured from his puffy red eyes.  
"Pika-pi!" Pikachu shouted, running into the room and by his master's side to pat on his back with a paw. Togepi waddled in unseen by Brock.  
"Toge?.. " Togpei looked at Ash crying. "Priiiii!" it screamed, shedding billions of tears.  
"Pika!" Pikachu shouted at Togepi and ran over to it to calm it's nerves, then Ash cried harder. Pikachu ran to Ash. Togepi screeched and screamed. Pikachu ran to Togepi. After Ash's heavier wailing and Togepi's useless screeching, Pikachu sweatdropped and plopped on the bed to sleep.  
"Pika." it said.  
"What-what.." was all that Brock could mutter. "Well, maybe it was Misty, after all..."  
Then, Brock turned around and left the room in a hurry, leaving Ash and Pikachu and Togepi behind. What was Misty thinking?!  
  
Suddenly, Misty blinked, the total blackness in her eyes had faded into the crystal green-blue it was originally and naturally born with. Her now pale skin began to highlight into the tannish color it used to be. Everything was turning back to normal, but her mind was left back at the Poke'Center.  
"What happened???" she looked around anxiously.  
"Where" she panted in fear, "Am I?!"  
"Misty! Thank God, there you are!" Brock shouted, turning a corner from the water-glazed highway.  
Misty spun around in shock and stared at him, surprised that Brock had suddenly shown up.   
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa..." Brock calmed and shot up his hands. "It's me. 'Brock-o', remember?" he smiled.  
"I... think so, yeah." Misty nodded. "Wait, where am I? Where's Ash?"   
"What are you talking about? You just left him in the Center crying his eyes out!" Brock informed sternly.  
Misty's mouth dropped. "I did not!"  
"What, you-" Brock scoffed, "You just did! And from the way it looks, you beat him up and pretty much tore out his heart!"   
"What are you talking about?!" Misty gasped, "You! You knocked me out or drugged me because... So that I'd wake up in the streets and you'd hide out around the corner 'till I'd wake up and now you're filling my head with these stories 'cause... 'Cause you don't like the fact that we're together now!"   
"Wha-What What?! Wha-" Brock shook his head confusingly, not getting a word out of this.  
"Well, you'll see! I'll show you, he's just fine!" Misty said, and ran off into the night painted streets in search of the first sight of the Center.  
Misty ran as quickly as she could in the direction of the Poke'Center.  
'I don't know what's going on, but if it has anything to do with you, Shauna..." Misty thought, spotting the sight of the Center, "You'll regret it."  
  
  
"Ash?" she asked, knocking on the door.  
Ash's head shot up from the tear infested pillow. Pikachu's ear shot up out of his sleep.   
"Yeah?" he asked shakily, recognising her voice.  
"Are you alright?"  
"No!" he whined.  
Misty grabbed the doorknob and turned. The door flung open.  
"Wow... I always lock the door when I cry..." Misty mumbled. "Well, anyways, what happened?"  
"What happened? What happened?! You broke up with me is what happened!"  
"Pi..." Pikachu mumbled to himself and walked out the door bringing the now silent Togepi along with him. This was a "big people's" personal conversation.  
"I what?" Misty gaped.  
"Yeah! And Brock should know! That's the worst way to break up with somebody; what you did."   
"What did I do?" she asked.  
"You were just... I don't even know whay I'm talking about this to you! You wanted to be without me, so go away!"  
"But I-" Misty began, but he'd already thrown his head back into the terribly damp pillow. She sighed.  
"Ash, I really don't know what happened. I don't know... the only things that I remember was you... really close, I tripped or something, and then I blink and I'm in an alleyway run off the road with Brock all up in my face saying I made you cry."  
"What?" he asked, picking up his head from the pillow.  
"Yeah. I don't know what happened. I really don't."  
"But... I don't get it..." Ash said, confused.  
"I don't either. But I do know that I never wanted for us to break up."  
"Misty..." his eyes sparkled, "You mean it?"  
"Well-yeah." she looked down. "Yeah, I do."  
"Well... What happened? Maybe you were just in a bad mood or something?" he asked.  
"No! I know what- I think I know what happened."   
"What happened?" Ash asked.  
"I think that-" Misty stared at the bed and suddenly felt awkward standing here in front of the doorway. "Um, can I sit down?"  
"Sure. Sure." he whispered and lay back on the bed, "If you can find a spot to sit down."   
Misty looked down on Ash spread scross the bed.  
"Move over." she commanded.  
"Make me."  
"Are you challenging me?" she smiled.  
"Maybe, Maybe not." he grinned.  
"Maybe, Maybe not, hm? Oh, come on, Ash, I'm tired." her shoulders slumped.  
"There is a carpet, you know."  
"This is my bed, now move." Misty said.  
"I want the bed tonight." he whined.  
"We can both have it, just move!" Misty growled.  
Ash chuckled, "Make me."  
She glared at him angerily. "Fine, but if you don't move, I'm gonna hafta sit down wherever I want. I hope you don't mind, 'cause I don't." Misty warned.  
"Whatever." was his only reply.  
"Okay..." then, she sat on his legs.  
"Hey, get off!" he screamed, "You're bruising up my legs!"  
"You said you didn't care." she said, kicking up her feet on Ash's chest.  
"Okay, okay, fine! You win!" Ash said and jumped from the bed, knocking Misty off of his legs.  
"Thank you!" Misty sung out and lay back on her pillows. "Hey! My pillows are soaked!" she sat up quickly.  
"You're the one who made me do that!"  
"Oh, yeah." Misty muttered. "I forgot to tell you what I think happened. Here, sit down." Misty offered and patted the part of the bed next to her.  
"Well? What happened?" he asked, now seated next to her.  
"I think I was posessed." she said quietly.  
"Pos-... Shauna." he said.  
"I know. I think it was Shauna, too. I think it may have been another test."  
"Oh, no! We still have four more to go!" Ash grasped his head.  
"No kidding. Well, I'm sure that we won this one. I think that it's goal was to get us to split up."  
"I agree." Ash said.  
"Hm." Misty nodded.   
"I'm tired, are you?" Ash yawned.  
"No! Oh, please, don't even mention sleep! I never want to go back there again!" Misty stressed.  
"Well, what are you gonna do? Stay awake for the rest of your life?" he asked.  
"I don't know." Misty sighed. "Just promise me that if I do fall asleep that you will too. I hate waiting for you and the last time I did your arrival wasn't too..." Misty swallowed, "inviting."  
"Huh?" Ash tried to remember the time Misty had to wait for him. It was the time... Oh, yeah.   
  
:::::Flashback:::::  
  
She gasped and was about to jump to her feet, when something heavy fell from it... and it landed on top of her.  
The 'burden' began to groan slightly and stir. Misty held her breath when she noticed the Pokemon League cap under her chin and 'the burden's' chin... uh... somewhere else... The person looked up at her. She took in more air when she saw Ash's face within inches from her own. She could feel her cheeks, forehead, and the back of her neck grow warmer than ever. About what seemed ten minutes went by when Misty looked around at nothing in particular and then back at Ash.  
"Are you able to move?" she asked quietly, the blush rapidly spreading.  
"Uh.. oh, yeah..." Ash chuckled nervously and sat up, turning a bit red also.  
  
:::::End Flashback:::::  
  
"Uh.. oh, yeah..." Ash chuckled nervously, turning a bit red and adjusted his cap.  
"Mm-hmm." Misty nodded, also remembering the 'delightful' memory.  
"Yeah, but that was before... uh... now!" Ash perked and smiled.  
"I know, but... Hey, wait a minute. So what if it was before now? What's now, Ash?" she asked.  
"Uh." he backed up. "I dunno."  
"I think you do." Misty's eyes narrowed.  
"Well, we're... uh..." Ash blinked. "You know..."  
"No, I don't." Misty lied.  
"We're... um, I don't know the right word. We're just..." he mumbled.  
"What are we, Ash? Pray do tell."  
"We're... Oh! We're together!" he laughed.  
"I know! Ain't it great!" she said and began to dance around like her previous 'victory dance'.  
"Oh no..." Ash said. "I don't think I should of said that..." he sweatdropped.  
*It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart...*  
"Huh?" Misty paused. "What was that?"  
"I don't know. Beats me." Ash said, confused.  
They both look towards the door, where the sound was coming from.  
*Without saying a word, you can light up the dark.* it continued.  
Misty gasped. "I know this song!"  
*Try as I may, I can never explain what I hear when you don't say a thing.* the sound said.  
Ash ran over to the door.  
*The smile on your face lets me know that you need me  
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me*  
"There's a radio out here!" he said, staring down at the small boombox. "Wha-"  
Ash thought he saw a green vest disappear around a corner.  
'Brock...' he thought.  
*The touch of your hand says you'll catch me wherever I fall  
You say it best when you say it best when you say nothing at all.* it continued.  
*All day long I can hear people talking out loud  
But when you-*  
Ash pushed the 'stop' button.  
"Hey! Why'd you do hafta go and do that?" Misty asked.  
"What? What, you actually want this thing playing?" he asked.  
"Of course I do! Now, push play again!" she commanded.  
"Allright, but I have to bring it in her or else the neighbors will start complaining." he said, picking up the radio and carrying it into the room. "Where do you want me to put this?"  
"I don't care. Who's is it?" she asked.  
"I think it's Brock's. I saw him running away when I looked down the hall."  
"Ohhh.... Just put it on the dresser, then." she murmured. "Hey Ash?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Do you think he put it there on purpose?" she asked.  
"I don't know. Why would he?"   
Misty stared at him for a while as he set the radio on the dresser.   
'I wonder... Maybe Brock does care about us.' she thought. 'Maybe he really does care about us, but doesn't care about us getting together.'  
Ash walked over to his sleeping bag and stretched it out over the floor.   
"Please keep the sound down. I'm tired." he said, beginning to lay down.  
"Why aren't you sleeping in my bed?" she asked.  
"Huh? Oh yeah! I forgot..." he chuckled.  
Misty smiled and watched Ash climb into her bed and lay down.  
"I hope that-" Misty began as she lay down next to him, but noticed that his eyes were closed. "Ash?"   
"Good night Mist..." he mumbled sleepily.  
"Nevermind..."   
She pulled out the covers from under Ash's body and covered the two of them. Then, after slipping her arm around his waist, whispered in his ear, "Goodnight, Ash."  
  
~~~~~~~~End of this chapter~~~~~  
*snores* "..." ......... OW! Okay, I'm up! I'm up! Jeez, what an ending... Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. My next chapter is gonna be about ::in loud booming voice:: THE THIRD TEST. *duh dum dum....* Oh wells, it's gunna be sooo fun in the next chappy that I hope I just speed right through it. Oh, I can't wait to start! I just..... I... *snores* "..." ...... byesees...  
zzz -_- zzz 


	9. Lost

Lost... And Alone, But Not Alone  
By: LilCupidjr.  
Misty slowly opened her eyes to the familiar grey world around her.  
'Mm-hm. The usual' she thought.  
"Hey Ash?" she asked.  
He didn't answer. Misty looked to her side, but he wasn't there at all.  
"Oh, great..." she muttered.   
Just then, Ash fell out of the 'sky' and landed directly on top of her. Again.  
"You know... this is getting... really lame!" Misty said, shoving Ash off of her.  
"Wha-?"  
"Save it, Ash. Let's just find that b*tch Shauna and get the he!l out of here before any more weird sh*t happens to us again."  
"Since when did you start talking like that?!" Ash asked in wonder.  
Misty gasped. "Oh. What'd I say?" she asked, clasping a hand to her mouth.  
"Uhh--"  
"No. Nevermind." she shook a hand to Ash's face. "Just forget about it. I'm sorry."  
"Nah, that's okay. Accidents happen. I mean, even myself sometimes-"  
"Ash. Ash." Misty repeated, grabbing his jacket sleeve.  
"What?"  
"Look." she pointed ahead of her in fear.  
Ash squinted his eyes. "What's that black stuff?"  
"No wait!" Misty shouted as Ash walked in the direction of the "black stuff".  
  
::Flashback::  
A forest. She didn't remember wishing for a forest. Why was there a forest in her dream? Where there are forests, there are definately going to be bugs. Knowing this, she would've easily refused a forest. Out of curiousity, she walked towards the forest. Something seemed to have been luring her there, because she suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked around.  
"What am I doing here?" she asked herself, feeling silly.  
"You have come to see me..." a raspy, thin voice said from inside the forest. It sounded a bit like Ash's, she noticed.   
"Ash?" she asked shakily. Something told her this just wasn't right.  
The voice chuckled evily.  
"Do I sound like Ash?"  
"Ash?" she asked louder, beginning to fear whatever was waiting for her in those trees.  
"Hmm... You are Mistique Buen Waterflower? Heh heh, I thought you sounded a bit like her..."   
"Who are you?" Misty demanded, her voice quivering.  
"I would normally say, "Your worst nightmare", but too many actors took my line before I ever was able to use the dam* thing. But, yes, I am your worst nightmare. Creator of all your nightmares and fantasies. I also see that you fancy that boy you are expecting to see. Well, he isn't here. He's in the real world." the strange voice said.  
"What are you talking about?"  
The 'thing' didn't answer. It was gone.  
"Who are you?!" Misty said, outraged that some freaky person was invading her personal dreams.  
She stomped into the dark forest where the trees shed little or no light at all, if any. She walked carefully, stepping over the many fallen tree branches or pinecones.  
"What are you doing here?! Get out! This is my territory! Go!" screeched the raspy voice.  
Misty looked up in the direction of the voice, but fell to the ground as a sudden weight fell upon her shoulders.  
"Beware little French miss, beware the forests, for they belong to me." the voice hissed into her ear. "Here's a suvineire for you to remember thine words."  
Misty gasped. What would it do to her?! She felt a cold breath upon her neck as the weight nearly crushed her shoulder crudely. A sharp tip pricked the side of her neck, then another, and another. Was the thing going to bite her neck?!  
'It's going to bite my neck!' Misty's mind screamed.  
"Move! Move now!" her brain told her to move, but it was too late...  
  
::End Flashback::  
  
"Mistique Buen Waterflower?!" Ash laughed.  
"Hey! Shut up!" Misty shouted.  
"Mist-- Mistique!" Ash said, falling to the ground in laughter and holding his stomach.  
"My name's Misty!" she shouted.  
"BUEN!" Ash cried.  
Misty growled and kicked him. "Shut up!"  
"Ho.... Okay." Ash said, chuckling the last few laughs. "Help me up." he held out his hands.  
"Screw you!" Misty said, staring at the young boy still with tears in his eyes.  
"Please?" he asked, stretching his hands out farther.  
Misty sighed. "Fine."   
She grabbed Ash's hands and pulled, but the second before his feet were properly on the ground, she let go of him.  
"Ow!" he said, falling to the ground.  
"You hurt my arm." she said.  
"Huh?" Ash asked. "Sorry..."  
"Syke! It was only a bruise all along!" she laughed. "Ashton!"  
Ash's face lit up in anger. "Mistique!"  
Misty giggled. "Ashton." and began walking towards the forest.  
"Hey!" Ash stumbled to stand. "Wait up!"  
"No..." Misty called back, "You catch up! Ketchum!"  
"Shut up!" he called out, running after her.  
"Make me!" she said, getting closer to the forest.  
"I would... If you'd just... slow down..." he said, grasping his ribs.  
"Oh, come on! You've only been running for twenty seconds!" Misty said, stopping.  
"No! I'm serious! I can't breathe!" he shouted.  
"Ash?" she asked, staring at him.  
"Ahhh...." he grunted, falling to the ground. "Shauna must be doing something to keep me away from the forest! Ahh!"  
"Ash?!" she shouted, running back to him.  
She kneeled down next to him. He stared back up at her in eyes barely open.  
"Listen to me..." he said.  
"What?" she whispered back.  
"I..."  
"What? You what?" she urged.  
"I... need you to carry me the rest of the way..."  
Misty sweatdropped. "Say what?"  
Suddenly Ash grinned.  
"What?! You--" she said, standing up. "You liar!"  
"What? I can't trick you, but you can pull pranks on me any time you want? Is that how it is?"  
"Yes, well that's exactly how it is."  
"That's not fair." he pronounced.  
"That's not fair." Misty mimmicked.  
Ash pouted. "You're mean."  
"No." Misty grabbed his head and ruffled his hair. "Your mean!"  
"Hey, stop!" Ash said, trying to wriggle free of her grasp.  
Misty laughed. "Make me," she sang.  
Suddenly, a streak of thunder clapped and the air darkened.   
"I see you've returned. Good girl." the raspy voice said.  
"Oh, god..." Misty mumbled.  
Ash, seeing this as his chance to escape, did so.  
"Now what do you want?!" he shouted.  
"Your body is what!!" It screamed back, but cleared it's 'throat'. "Your next test is ready for the taking. Please, step this way."   
A streaked pillar of blue aura shone down from above that slowly crept towards the dark, clouded substance called a forest.  
"You want us to go... there?" Misty asked. "In there?"  
'It' didn't answer.  
"Ash?" Misty asked.  
Ash looked at her from the corner of his eye.  
"Will you..." Misty gulped. "Ho-hold my hand?"  
Ash blinked. "If you'll hold mine...."  
Somehow, their hands found each other in an instant and they reluctantly approached the target.   
  
"Hello there." a figure ran up to them.  
Misty's eyes widened.  
"Richie?!" Ash asked.  
"Yes. Come along, then." Richie said, waving a hand in the direction he turned to.  
"Come along, then?" Misty whispered to Ash.  
"I dunno. Let's just follow it."  
Misty nodded.  
Soon, the three disappeared in the shear darkness of the forest.  
  
"OHMYGOD!!! They're everywhere!!!" Misty screamed, grabbing onto Ash's shoulder and arm.  
"Be brave, Misty." Ash started laughing. "Be strong..."  
A metapod slowly lowered itself onto Misty's head and strangled itself in her hair. Of course, she screamed and flailed around as if her clothes had vanished. *I don't mean to give you a 'mental picture', it just seemed like a good comparison... ^_^;*   
"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! KILL IT! KILL IT!" she repeated over and over.  
Soon, a weedle landed on her shoulder and a caterpie crawled its way up her leg, leaving a trail of slime. Screaming over and over, Ash suddenly clasped a hand over her mouth.  
"Shh! Listen!" he whispered.  
Besides the sudden thud of a metapod falling from her head, their was a slight buzzing sound.  
"There could be bedrill..." he whispered. "... nearby..."  
"Oh.............. GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF OF ME!! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"  
Ash sighed.   
"SHUT UP!!!" he shouted and grabbed her mouth, holding her lips together. His other hand wrapped around her waist, keeping her from flailing.  
Feeling Ash holding her, she soon felt her body at a sudden ease.  
"Shhhhhhh..." she heard him hiss as they began to walk again.  
Ash slowly let go of Misty's mouth and messed with the metapod in her hair, trying to set it free. Misty blushed.  
"Um-"  
"Just hold on a sec..." Ash whispered.  
The metapod fell to the ground with a small thump. Misty sighed.  
"Well, at least it wasn't a Kakuna." Ash said thankfully.  
"No kidding. Oh my gosh, where'd Richie go?!" Misty asked, suddenly realizing that their young friend had disappeared.   
But Ash didn't answer her. That was when she noticed that the buzzing had long since stopped.   
"Hey, Ash?" She asked again.  
But, looking to his side, she noticed he wasn't there. No one was. There was something clinging to her knees. Something… She swallowed once, hoping it wasn't another Caterpie. Looking downwards, she saw not a Caterpie, but a beautiful white gown that was damp with something… Misty bent over to examine the scent. It smelled like a perfume, since there was a lot it must've been deluded in water. Something then brushed her backside. Her bare backside. She flung a hand behind her back to feel nothing but her own hair let down, also drenched in the sweet perfume that smelled of ripe mangos. Something else caught her attention. As her fingers caught a smear of red lipstick that appeared on her lips, they smelled like raspberries.   
"What am I?! A human fruit basket?! What's the deal?!"  
"Ashton is your goal. Find him. Enter the room of walls." Said a raspy, thin voice.  
"What… who… is this another test?" Misty asked.  
"Of course."  
"Well, why then am I dressed like this?!"  
"Well-"  
"And… what's with the smell? I smell weird!"  
"Shut it, Mistique. Just find Ashton."  
"And quit calling me that!"  
"What would you rather me call you? Mist? Like Ash does, maybe?" The demon sneered.  
"Shut up…" Misty mumbled, and spotted an open doorway to the "room of walls".  
"Is this it?" Misty asked, pointing to the doorway.  
Shauna had no answer, and Misty didn't really care to wait for it.  
"Fine. I'll play your dumb game." Misty said crisply and turned into the room.  
There were two walls leading to nothing but a dead end. Misty spun around to ask Shauna what the heck's going on, but the door was replaced by another wall.  
"God, this dream is really starting to suck." She said quietly.  
"Well, whaddya want me to do?!" Misty shouted, throwing her arms to the ceiling. "Where'm I s'posed to go?!"   
"Take nothing for granted. Take nothing for what it is. Take nothing for what they seem." Whispered a small voice. It didn't sound a bit like Shauna's.  
"Who…" Misty spun around a few times in confusion.  
Suddenly, Ash's hand fell to his side, feeling Misty's leave.   
"What... Hey Misty! Where…"  
Something felt wrong… Something… Ash looked to his hands. They were coated in a white material. On him was a fitted black tuxedo. His hair was set free of his beloved hat.   
"What's going on?!" He shouted.  
"Mistique is your goal. Find her, and the game is yours. Lose her, and she will be lost forever. Enter the room of walls." Said the raspy, thin voice again.  
"The what?"  
A giant hand appeared, and motioned towards a door opened to pitch black.  
"Oh… but where'd Richie go?"  
"Who cares where Richie is! Just go, already!"  
Ash ran a hand through his hair.  
"Is Misty in there?"  
"No duh." The demon scoffed.  
His hand left his scalp of black hair dragging a scent along with it.  
"Blueberry?!"  
"Just get in there!!" The demon shouted.  
Just then, a strong force threw him into the room of walls. The door disappeared. Ash faced two walls, one on each side, and another standing as a dead end.  
"Huh…" Ash said to himself.  
"Take nothing for granted. Take nothing for what it is. Take nothing for what they seem." Whispered a small voice. It didn't sound a bit like Shauna's.  
"Who…" Ash spun around a few times in confusion.  
"It's… a maze…" Misty said slowly, looking around a corner. "I guess it isn't a dead end, but… who said that?" She looked over her shoulder once towards the spot where she had heard the tiny voice before.  
"I can seem to match it up to anyone I've ever known… Ah, it could just be Shauna trying to screw with my mind."  
She walked, turned a corner, then walked some more. After what seemed like an hour of walking and turning forks and corners, a dead end appeared. She sighed and turned around. There was another brick wall.   
"What?!" Misty shouted aggravated. "Magic? The demon's been using magic on me the entire time???"  
She sank to her knees. 'Oh great. Now, I have to deal with her load of magic but…' a small tear formed at the base of her eye. 'What if that means that it's impossible to get out...? What if…' more tears formed. 'What if I never find him? What if I never find Ash?'  
Suddenly, she threw up a fist and forced the tears away.  
"No! I hafta find him! I have to find a way out!"  
She thrust herself upwards and ran as fast as she could, feeling every bit of strength being sucked out of her. Soon, her legs became weary. The tears dried against her cheeks, but were soon washed away by the many fresh streams of the salty discharge that signaled her great depressions. Her fiery red hair flowed behind her like the wings of a cardinal and whipped with the damp wetness that still lingered in its roots. Her teeth were fiercely bared with great determination. Sweat seemed to pour from her brow.   
'I am NOT a princess! I'm Misty! I can find him! I will!' She repeated over and over in her mind like a powerful chant that was hoped to help her in her search.  
Air seemed essential, and she suddenly came to a stop and kneeled over, clutching her ribs for comfort and gasping like a tortured slave under the control of evil.  
"This is… It's just too much. I don't think I can take much more of this…"  
"Seek deeply, Misty. Seek for the boy you love. And his love..." Said the small voice.  
"What? Shauna, quit it! I know it's you!" Misty looked up in anger.  
"Don't you get it?" Asked the small voice.  
Just then, a little fairy in a red satin dress appeared. Its skin was pale and hair was short with a sky-blue tint, much like its eyes, and ocean-blue streaks.  
"This maze is representing you. Your heart."  
"Who are you?" Misty asked, standing up.  
"My name is Kinawasetinogashichagachukidelopa and I was sent by a spirit. A good, clean and quite innocent spirit, whom I believe is Ash."  
"Ash sent you?"   
"Well ye-"  
"Ahhahahaha!" Misty laughed. "Ash was always soooo smart in these kinds of situations! Ha ha!"  
The fairy sweatdropped. "Uh…"  
"So? Can you show me where he is?" Misty asked excitedly.  
"Uh… I don't know where he is."  
"Wha? Then what good are you?!"  
"I can give you clues. I can help your heart."  
"Yeah yeah… Just give me all you got, then…"  
"Alright! Follow me!" 


	10. Still Lost

Sorry... I changed Shauna's name to Kaesoto...   
Well, this chapter is kinda a little bit shorter, but remember, it's not like it's supposed to be a friggin novel.  
~ The stone floor felt drastically frozen beneath her bare feet as she ran eagerly towards an invisible target which she may never find again. The tiny winged creature said as if in disapproval, "You run too slow. Move faster."  
"I'm going as fast as I can! You don't have to run with the wings and all. Hey! How come you can't just fly above the walls and look over them to find Ash?"  
"I'm sorry, but that would be cheating."   
"Cheating?! Who's side are you on, anyway?" Misty asked.  
"Um... I'm not sure why I was put in this maze, but I do know I was born to help humans in time of trouble. That's what we, fairies, do, well, there's also the angels, but they're too busy to handle the petty problems that most mortals would stress over."  
"PETTY PROBLEMS?!?! I may never see Ash again!!! This is not a 'petty problem' if anything!!" Misty screamed.  
"Run faster! If we don't get there in time, Ash will run right past us!" the fairie yelled, ignoring her remark.  
"What do you mean, he'll run right past us? If he even saw me, I'm sure he wouldn't just run right past me, I don't know about you, but--"  
"SHH!!!" the fairie suddenly paused.  
After a while of waiting irritably, Misty spoke up.  
"What's going on?"   
"There is another presence among us..." it whispered, looking around.  
"Well, duh." she said. "It's a demon right."  
"No... Not demon. It seems stronger than a demon."  
  
"But Master, you don't know how--"  
"HOW DARE YOU TELL ME WHAT I KNOW AND DO NOT KNOW! I KNOW ALL. I ALSO KNOW THAT YOU ARE A WORTHLESS DEMON WHOM DOESN'T DESERVE A SPOT IN MY ARMY!"  
"BUT SIR! ---"  
"TWO KIDS!! TWO HELPLESS CHILDREN, YOU CANNOT CAPTURE. AND TO THINK I GAVE YOU A CHOICE OF LIFE."  
"But Sire, their spirits are amazingly strong!"  
"NO! YOU ARE AMAZINGLY WEAK, KAESOTO!"  
"Sir, may I ask for one more chance? Just one more chance to serve You, please?" Shauna, or Kaesoto, asked.  
"YOU HAVE ONE MORE CHANCE, DEAR KAESOTO, BUT IF YOU TEND TO WASTE THAT CHANCE, YOUR SPIRIT WILL SERVE ME IN ALL ETERNAL HELL. NOW, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"  
"Yes Master." Kaesoto bowed.  
  
Brock hummed lightly as he entered his room and spotting Ash and Misty in bed asleep. He cautiously walked over to them in wonder and peeled off the covers hoping to see some clothes, not that it was any of his business, but he did have to share a room with them and all. So, satisfied, he walked over to his sleeping bag and laid down on the soft material grabbing his book.  
"Dating for Dummies." he mumbled the title out loud as he flipped to the first page.  
He opened his backpack and pulled out a bottle of Gatorade and a pack of Oreos.  
After about an hour of reading, Brock sighed and drank the last of the sweet sports drink before marking the page in his book and saying, "So that's why..."  
"No, please don't!"   
His head jerked to the left in alert at the sound of Misty's voice. Then came a "Misty! Where are You?!"   
Brock jumped up. He walked slowly over to the bed, not seeing either of their faces. Once he got there, he bent over them careful not to touch.   
"Damn you, demon!" Ash screamed.  
"AH!" Brock gasped, falling backwards to the floor.  
'Sleeptalking??' he wondered. 'but... what does it mean? I've never heard Ash curse like that...'  
Just then there was a light tapping on the door. Brock stood up and walked over to the door, staring out the tiny hole just above his nose. He didn't see anyone out there, and figured it was just a prank. He turned away from the door and began to walked back towards his sleeping bag when the soft knocking continued. Brock sighed and walked back towards the door to look out the hole again when the knocking stopped.  
"Spooky..." he said quietly, noticing the empty presence at his door.  
He waited a while, staring out to the hall, when the knocking came again. Brock, stunned by all laws of nature, opened the door a bit.  
"Hi there."  
Brock screamed when he saw that there was no body, but a voice.  
"Please take this message to thoughts of the needy. There is trouble in your presence. Heed this advice, and thank you."  
Brock looked to all sides of the hallway, but saw no one. Instead, there was a message at his feet. He bent down to examine the tiny gold writing.  
  
'Dear Brock,  
This is not a warning, prank, or advertisement. Your friends are in deep trouble. There is a demon, Kaesoto, in their sleep and there is nothing they can do to avoid it. You must be the one to destroy it. For their sake, and also for the world's.   
Please visit the following address:  
1772 Barren Ave.   
Or call the following number:  
555-8859  
Seek help with this letter as soon as possible.  
  
-Akiro'  
  
"Oh my..." he mumbled, reading the letter again.   
Suddenly, he ran into the room for his stuff and left a letter on the dresser.  
"Hey, went out to save the world, be back soon." he said to himslef as he quickly wrote the words on a tissue, practically tearing at it with a pen, before sprinting out the door.  
On the way down the street, Brock checked his pokeballs into the pocket of his backpack.  
"Just in case of ambush or something..."  
Ash fell to his knees in tire losing strength as he lost air.   
"I don't think I can go on any longer." he panted.  
"Don't move. There is a presence... I can sense it..." his fairie growled.  
"A presence? Is it Shauna?" he asked.  
"I don't think so. It's power is strong. It's too strong to be that of a demon."  
"You mean---"  
"Yeah, I think so..." the fairie nodded.  
The two were completely still and silent for what seemed like an hour before Ash spoke up.  
"Hey, do you know much about this demon?"  
"I might." it answered, floating down to him.  
"Can you tell me where did it come from, and why now?"  
"Oh... well, I believe this demon is originally from Misty's subconscious mind. You see, all the stress and unexpressed anger and evil was stored away in her system, causing a power unimaginable. Most likely deadly."  
"What do you mean, 'unexpressed anger'?" Ash scoffed. "That girl could beat up an entire football team in less than ten minutes 'cause someone put a bug in her water."  
"Maybe, but I think it may also be hereditary. All this anger may have been passed down to her from her mother when she was born. You see, it was exactly that that killed her in the first place. If it wasn't for her father, the world's future would've been a total disaster. This is why she doesn't know anything about her parents. Matters such as these should be kept totally confidential."  
"It's...It's gone... I think the evil spirit is fading, though there is a smaller presence that remains within the maze. It is evil, but I'm sure much more weaker than you. I don't know what happened to it, but it's weakened at least five times it's original strength." Misty's fairie said.  
"Oh, really, you mean Shauna?" she asked.  
"Most likely, yes."  
"Oh, oh, okay." Misty nodded.  
"Yes, now, let's go!" the fairie commended, flying off.  
"Hey! Wait up, Tinkerbell!" Misty shouted, picking up her gown. "Ugh, I hate all this hair, no wonder why I cut it all off."  
"It's... yes, I think it's gone."  
"What? What's gone" Ash asked.  
"The presence. The presence is disappearing, though there is a smaller one, I think it's allright to continue out search." the fairie said.  
"Allright. I'll let you decide which way," he said, looking at the many turns and corners.   
"This way." the fairie bagan to move, but Ash caught it's attention just in time.  
"Wait! What's that? I think it's a door..."  
"A door? There's not supposed to be any doors here, this is a maze. No. Let's not open it." the fairie said, examining the door.  
"But, it might lead us to a shortcut."  
"Ash, it's a trap. Let's just go this way and we'll see what we see."  
"It doesn't look like a trap."  
"Listen, if Kaesoto wanted to build a trap, why would he make it look like a trap???"  
"Huh? Who's Kaesoto?"  
"Just- Let's just go this way, Ash. I can sense Misty's fairie over in this direction."  
"A fairie? She has a fairie, too? Oh, good." Ash sighed.  
"What is so good?"  
"It's just... Nothing, let's just talk as we walk. We'll get there much more faster."  
  
::By the way, I've professionally changed Shauna into Kaesoto, just 'cuz it's a prettier name than the last. ^_^ Tat's all::  
  
"Those puny little brats! I'll get them... I'll get them so good..."  
Kaesoto stared into his Dome of Seeing, where he would watch Ash and Misty search desperately for eachother in fear of losing one another. He examined their behavior closely, but couldn't put his finger on the one thing that meant most to them in a time like this. He just couldn't...  
"Wait a minute." Kaesoto tapped his chin with his fingers.  
He stared on, and suddenly clenched his fist, digging the sharp nails into the palm of his hand drawing a large amount of blue blood that trickled down his wrist.  
"The unsuspecting kiss... the confession... their worries for eachother..."  
A deep growl rumbled though his chest and escaped his lips.  
"Oh, WHY WAS I SO STUPID?!!!"   
The demon slammed down his bleeding fist in rage.  
"Wait... It's here." the fairie cut it's flight short.  
"What?" Ash stopped, "What's here?"  
The fairie didn't answer, but instead flew a few inches ahead and held out an arm. As it was slowly wafting forward, his fist disappeared, then his arm, and his shoulder. Soon enough, it popped in it's head. Ash just watched, not amused, for the day was weird enough and it wasn't like he wasn't expecting this. The entire fairie body soon reappeared with a smile.  
"I knew it."  
  
"Hey, wait, stop." her fairie commanded, holding out a hand and making Misty pause in her tracks.  
"What? What's up?" she asked.  
"Watch..." the fairie whispered, "I think something's coming..."  
They watched, and just as the fairie predicted, hand, arm, and eventually a head appeared out of nowhere and smiled at them and waved.  
"Ack! What in the world?!" Misty observed.  
Then, the half-body disappeared into thin air again.  
"It's here! Your gateway to freedom!" the fairie announced, happy of its quest.  
"Really?! Great!" Misty exclaimed. "That's great! But... then where's Ash?"  
"He's right here!" the fairie said.  
"Where?"  
The fairie sighed and floated down to Misty.  
"There is a wall, say, an invisible wall, and Ash is on the other side."  
"Ash? An invisible wall?" Misty asked.  
"Yes, but-"  
"Well, what're we waiting for?!" Misty shouted, running toward the wall.  
"WAIT, MISTY, STOP!!"  
His fairie grinned joyously.  
"It's here! Your gateway to freedom!" it announced, happy of its quest.  
"Really?! Great!" Ash exclaimed. "That's great! But... then where's Misty?"  
"She's right across from us!" the fairie said.  
"Where?"  
The fairie sighed and floated down to Ash.  
"There is a wall, say, an invisible wall, and Misty's on the other side."  
"Misty? An invisible wall?" Ash asked.  
"Yeah, but-"  
"Well, what're we waiting for?!" Ash shouted, running toward the wall eagerly.  
"WAIT, ASH, NO!!"  
  
~end chap. ^_~   
  
*pokes and teases readers* A little more excitey stuff along the way! Please forgive me for changing the name of the demon dude, but I just couldn't take Shauna anymore... ---why did I use that name in the first place???--- (*baka) Ah, oh well, all I know is that it's almost midnight now that I'm writing this... Friday night! Yeah Baby Yeah!!! lol  
  
~~Christina was here 


	11. Something Special

Sorry So Long. Writer's Block…   
P.S. If you don't believe in Heaven, don't even bother to read this… *hint hint* ^.~  
  
Ash stopped suddenly, skidding in his tracks.  
"What?" He asked irritated.  
"You must go in at-"  
"-the exact same time." The fairy finished.  
"What do you mean, 'the exact same time'?" Misty stared. "How am I supposed to know when he goes in so that I can go in?"  
The fairy thought a moment.  
"Okay, how about I hold out three fingers on each side of the barrier and on the count of one, you put in your hand. If you find his at the exact same moment, the both of you can cross over together and once the two of you are inside the barrier, the game is over and you win." It said.  
"But what if his hand isn't there when mine is?"  
"Then… you must both start at the very beginning."  
"Wha-?"  
"The rules, the game, the maze… it all changes…"  
"And the time?"  
"I don't think I have to tell you if your time runs out…"  
Misty stared blankly at the invisible barrier in front of her. What if this was all a prank? Some joke. Maybe these fairies are just there to get them even more lost than they were now? What if Ash wasn't on the other side and the fairy was only tricking her into thinking that so that she would go into the barrier all by herself and have to start all over. What if there wasn't even a barrier and the fairy's only saying all this mumbo-jumbo to waste her time? It does kinda look suspicious… But it was her only hope.  
"Are you ready?"  
Misty nodded.  
"Stand beside the barrier and be ready to go in on my count."   
The fairy slid its head into the barrier, carefully at first, then its arms.   
"And what if this is all a bunch of hypnotism or something…" Misty mumbled out loud watching the fairy communicate without a head or arms.  
Then, an arm returned, holding out three dainty fingers.  
"But… how am I supposed to know when Misty is in?" Ash asked his fairy.  
"Hmm…" The fairy muttered as it thought.  
"Bonjour. Please, I must speak with you." Another fairy popped its head in through the barrier and motioned toward the other.  
Ash watched in suspicion as they chatted amongst themselves about things in which had to be whispered about, apparently. Suddenly, the fairy grinned and clapped its hands together, looking once at Ash, then to the other half-fairy.   
"That's great." It said, showing its appreciation.  
"Okay, Ash. This fairy over here is going to count to three. Now, when it reaches three, at that exact time, I want you to run to the barrier and hold out your hand into it. If you find a hand, at the precise moment, I want you to walk inside."  
"Well, what's inside?" He asked.  
"Trust me, you'll like it."  
"Misty?"   
"Okay, ready?!" The fairy said.   
It held up three fingers.  
"No! I-I can't let this happen! I won't!" Kaesoto said angrily.  
He watched in silence down at the two children waiting alert to jump into his "Game Over" button, tapping his long nails to his chin in thought. He pursed his lips in deep mentality. He grinned, flashing a set of extreme fangs in serious need of dental care.  
"They want a hand, they got a hand."   
"One!"  
Misty took a deep breath.  
"Two!"  
Ash sighed stood firm, feeling as if he was about to punch someone in the gut.  
"…Three!"  
It was all or nothing.  
Ash threw in his open hand into the barrier, watching his arm disappear from the elbow on down. Misty did the same.  
"Ah!" She said happily as she felt a hand grab hers. "It's his hand!"  
"Great! Now jump in!"  
  
'Her hand… but…'  
"What? What's the matter?" The fairy asked.  
"When'd her nails get so darn long?!" He asked. "Ack! It's hurting-"  
The fairy gasped.   
"Don't do it! Just sit tight!" It said.  
Misty was about to jump in when she felt a strong pull on her arm, long nails digging into her skin. She winced, feeling a thin stream of liquid trickle down her arm from the nails in her wrist.   
"Something's wrong!" She shouted.  
"No! Wait!" The fairy said, flying through the barrier.  
"What?" The other asked.  
"Don't let her go through, something's wrong."  
"I know."  
Suddenly, the hand was pulling at Misty, pulling her into the barrier.  
"No, wait! I don't think this is right!" She shouted, looking to the fairies for guidance.  
"What do we do?" One of them asked.  
"I don't know…"  
  
Ash gasped as the long-nailed hand on the other side pulled viciously, tearing at the skin on his hand.  
"Stop it!" He grunted.  
"Hey, fairy, this isn't Misty, is it???" He asked, swaying at the ways of the invisible hand in front of him.  
"No! Don't jump in!" It shouted, pulling through the barrier into Ash's side.  
"Well, who is it?!"   
"It's… Him." The fairy glared.  
"Him?! Him who???"  
"It's… Him. The Beast."  
"Hmm."  
Brock looked down at the paper in his hand, reading the tiny golden letters.   
"It's says, 'Dear Brock, This is not a warning, prank, or advertisement. Your friends are in deep trouble. There is a demon, Kaesoto, in their sleep and there is nothing they can do to avoid it. You must be the one to destroy it. For their sake, and also for the world's. Please visit the following address: 1772 Barren Ave. Or call the following number: 555-8859 Seek help with this letter as soon as possible. –Akiro'. Well, who's Akiro?" He looked up at the barren wasteland around him and frowned. "And what's up with this??? Where's Akiro?"  
As if to answer his question, a rat, large and overly fat, crawled up to Brock's shoe and nibbled at his shoe laces.   
"Stupid rat..." He scowled, kicking it to the side.   
But to his fascination, there lay a somewhat small wooden door right in the ground.   
"What…?"   
Brock bent over and kneeled, wiping away the dirt that had blown over an engravement in the wood. As soon as he dusted it away:  
"1772 Barren Ave."  
Brock admired the small engravement with an index finger and quickly began knocking.  
"Hey! Anyone there?! Akiro!"  
No one answered for a moment, then suddenly, the door creaked open a bit and beady eyes looked through at the strange visitor. First, eyes showing that of anger and annoyance, but soon became of happiness and relief.  
"Oh, welcome, Brock. Please, come on in and make yourself at home. We'll be doing a séance shortly."  
"A séance?!"   
"Shh…" Akiro warned, opening the door further and motioning for him to enter.  
"Hm…" Brock looked around as he walked down a small flight of steps.   
"Now." Akiro started, sitting down at a table. "Where shall we begin?"  
"Begin? I thought that you would know that much, ma'am." Brock said.  
"I know… So, we first have Ash and Misty in a connection."  
Brock nodded as she went on. She sat back and closed her eyes, letting her silvery-grey hair fall back behind her.  
The fireplace burned brightly, yet it was the only light source in the entire dwelling. The room looked like a sorry excuse for a cellar. The fire jumped excitedly as her arms shook, rattling the many beads the stringed them.  
"They are in a dream state right now." She said quickly.  
"Uh. Yeah."  
"They're…" She mumbled.   
Suddenly she gasped, the fire blaring behind her, flames reaching out to her body as her eyes shone in fear.  
"The Beast is with them!" She said, her voice rasp.  
She began panting as she collected various jars and plants from around the table, some scattering and rolling off the edge. She busted one on the table, the bits and pieces of clay flew in all different direction, and she picked up two tiny, black, volcanic rocks. She jumped out of her chair, spinning around and facing the fire and throwing a rock in. The flames grew and a bluish fog encircled them, growing thicker by the second. She took the other rock and reflected the light from the fire, shining a thin ray into the alpha flame. There was a sudden screech the filled the room, bouncing rapidly off the crystalline rock walls. Brock jumped but the woman laughed.  
  
"It's… It stopped." Ash informed the fairy.   
"Yes, I… Something is missing…" It replied.  
"Maybe it was-"  
"Kaesoto?" Misty asked the fairy, feeling the claws pull out of her skin, replaced with another hand.  
"Is this Ash?" She asked hopefully.  
"Probably." The fairy replied.   
It looked cautiously to the arm sticking out of the barrier, a sudden 'peace' sign formed with two small fingers. The fairy grinned as the hand held up one finger. A head popped through and smiled and winked.  
"Okay, Misty! Watch the hand and on the count of three, jump in!" It shouted.  
"What?! Is it safe?"  
"Of course."  
Misty whined in discomfort. But… what did she have to lose?  
"I guess…" She muttered quietly to herself.  
Two.  
The thumb hand she held tightly softly stroked the face of her hand in reassurance. She couldn't help but smile.  
'I'm sure.'  
  
Ash smiled as the hand on the other side gripped his tightly as the little fairy hand held up two fingers.  
One.  
Without hesitation, both Ash and Misty jumped into the barrier.  
  
"AAAAH!!! What the HELL?! What-?! Who-?!" Kaesoto winced, feeling his forehead burn.   
Just seconds before, his hand was forced out of his sight dome and a powerful white ray pierced through his personal darkness and smacked him right between the eyes.  
"Ugh…" He moaned, picking himself off the floor whilst hearing a faint laughing on the Other Side.  
He forced himself to leer over the table clumsily, looking into his dome. He gasped.  
"NO!"   
  
Misty opened her eyes and saw Ash. He was falling.   
"What happened?"  
It was dark, but a thin aura of a white, near green, seemed to shield them from the ghouls and ghosts that may have lurked nearby. There were no walls, no floor, no ceiling. It was all endless. Hopefully.   
"We… won, maybe?" Ash said, opening his own eyes and looking down.  
"Where are we?" He asked.  
"Did we lose?" Misty asked quickly.  
"I hope not."  
"But-"  
"We didn't lose, Misty! We can't!" Ash said, near tears.  
"Ash…" She whispered. "Don't lose it on me."  
"I won't. But if we did lose… that must mean…"  
"Shh…" Misty quieted him as she levitated over to him and wrapped her arms around him.   
Just feeling him shake with sobs made her teary.  
"Ash, stop crying. You're gonna make me cry."  
Ash felt her soft hair on his cheek as he hugged her, resting his head on her shoulder.   
"You big baby." Misty joked, feeling a hot tear roll down her chin.  
"You act like my mother." Ash said thoughtfully.  
Misty chuckled.  
"You know what?" Misty asked, pulling him off of her to face her. "I think that no matter if we win or lose, it isn't important because what really matters is if we're together."  
"Don't get all sappy on me now that we're… here." Ash smiled.  
Misty stood in silence, a strange smile playing on her face and her eyebrows rose.  
"Well…what do you want me to say? I am a romantic."  
"I could tell." He laughed.  
"No, seriously." Ash said, taking her hands. "I love you."  
"Ash… and, I… love you, too."  
New tears filled her eyes and her lower lip quivered. She smiled and laughed a single laugh before he leaned toward her and kissed her. Grinning, she pulled away.  
"And this is you being serious?"  
"From now on, yes." Ash agreed and kissed her cheek.  
"You look so cute in a tux." Misty teased.  
"Thanks, but it isn't as comfortable as it looks."  
"Welcome Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower." Said a soft, yet strong voice, startling them both.  
A man, dressed in turquoise clothing and golden beads around his forehead with long, slim wings appeared out of nowhere and greeted them.  
"What brings you to Heaven? You haven't died."  
"We're in Heaven?!" Misty asked.  
"Wait a second." The Angel raised a finger and closed his eyes. "He says to send you back."  
"Back? Back, where?!" Ash asked the winged man.  
Suddenly, a bright flash erupted throughout eternity.  
"Huh…?"  
"Oh, Ash! My poor baby, are you alright?!"   
"Mom? Mom where am I?"  
Ash felt his leg burning against a cold metal. His back and neck hurt terribly.  
"Where's Misty?"  
"Misty? Oh, that's why we're here. She's been under for about a few hours now."  
"Under? Under what?"  
"Hyp- Oh, that's right! You fell asleep!" Delia smiled.  
"Wait a minute, what happened?!" Ash said seriously, sitting up in his seat, just realizing how uncomfortable the cushioned leather beneath his rear actually felt.  
"Oh, Ash, you must still be sleepy." Delia chuckled.  
"Mom, please tell me what happened."  
"Well…" Ash's mother looked at him stunned. "You just called me a couple of hours ago and said that Misty was sick. Brock called her parents and the-"  
"Brock!" Ash said surprised.   
Brock should be able to help him out.  
"Where is he?"  
"Why, he's in the other lounge. Honey, are you sure you're not sick?"  
But before Delia could get her hand on his forehead, Ash ran off through a door- the only one without an "employees only" sign slapped on the window.  
"Brock?!" He shouted, not bothering to look to his left.  
"Yeah?" He answered, putting down a magazine.  
"Where's Misty?" Ash asked hesitantly, kneeling down next to Brock.  
"She's… in the room. Under hypnotism."  
"Hypnotism?! Why is she under hypnotism?!"  
"I phoned Misty's parents in London. They said that the only reason for her sickness is that the hypnotism has worn off. She isn't supposed to get sick and so it was time for a renewal. They hired the best hypnotist in Viridian."  
"But… when did I get here?"  
"You were sleeping when we came to pick you two up. You should have seen how cute you two looked all curled up in bed together!" Brock laughed.  
Ash made a face.   
"You mean… But… Hey, Brock, which room is she in?" Ash asked.  
"607." He replied.  
Ash raced out of the room, running down the cleared hallway aligned with bright lights on the low ceiling. The squeaky-clean floor screeched as he skidded to a halt in front of the door labeled "Hypnotism: Room 607".  
Hesitantly, he reached for the metal doorknob and turned it so slow that it would creak. He began to push it open when it was quickly pulled open the rest of the way.  
"Ash?" Misty asked, blinking twice.  
"Misty?"   
"Now, remember, if you start to feel any side affects, call me." Said a woman's voice as she approached Misty, twirling her long silvery-white hair between her fingers.  
"Okay."   
The woman looked over to Ash and waved, the many beads shaking and batting each other as her hand went quickly from side to side.  
"Hi there, Ash."  
"Uh…" Ash groaned in confusion.  
Misty smiled, feeling a lot better.  
"C'mon Ash, let's go." She said, hooking her arm around his.  
Ash looked down at her hand at the end of the arm that was wrapped around his. In it was a card with the two things that he recognized.   
"Don't be afraid to call at: 555-8859. Ask for Miss Akiro." Ash said to himself, reading the card.  
"What?" Misty asked.  
"Nothing." Ash said, looking up and feeling an all-to-familiar blood rush to his cheeks.  
"Hey, Ash, I had the weirdest dream while I was under the hypnotism…"  
The End  
::YEAH!! I AM SOOO RELIEVED! Questions? Comments? I'm sure. Lilcupid40@yahoo.com *sigh* And just to think this is a Friday afternoon…   
Finished: Friday, February 28, 2003 @ 4:58pm ^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^ a THOUSAND smilies to all of my readers!!! And signing off in 3-2-1---  
BYE! 


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